


Hitched

by FuryRed



Series: Tying the Knot [2]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Charles You Slut, Charles You Will Be Drunk, Erik Has Feelings, Erik Logic Is The Best Logic, Established Relationship, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mob Boss Erik, Protective Erik, Wedding Night, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-02-23 14:37:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 56,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13192173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuryRed/pseuds/FuryRed
Summary: Charles always knew that his wedding day would be the happiest day of his life, and all he'd ever wanted was to have a nice, simple ceremony- something intimate and dignified and understated.Of course, what Charles hadn’t counted on was the highly-strung wedding planner taking over, or the overbearing mother-in-law getting involved, or the unexpected exes turning up, or one of the guests going missing...But as long as Charles could make it through the two-week event and finally get to marry the man he loved it would all be worth it....Right?A sequel toBound.





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

Charles had always disliked weddings.

During the course of his lifetime Charles had attended several events- some were fun, many were tedious, and all were very, very expensive... Certainly, there was something to be said for a ceremony- even during the most untenable wedding Charles had to admit that the moment when the happy couple exchanged their vows always made his heart clench in joy- but it was just all the other elements around the event that Charles couldn’t abide. There were so many rituals and traditions and silly little customs, the vast majority of which Charles considered to be completely unnecessary, as he’d always thought that weddings would be far better if they were considerably simplified.

Of course, despite Charles’ general dislike of the whole wedding experience he had never refused to attend one, and consequently he had become accustomed to the unique eccentricities that made up every couple’s special day. The wedding that Charles was currently heading to was likely to be no different to any he had attended before, with perhaps one significant distinction…

This time, Charles would be the one getting married.

Back when Charles had first gotten engaged he’d had a fairly specific idea of what he wanted his wedding day to be like. He’d always envisioned something small, something dignified, something intimate. Unfortunately though, his wedding planner had very different ideas…

“Honestly, Charles, I don’t know what you’re so worried about. I’ve planned this event down to the smallest detail- there’s literally nothing that could go wrong”.

Charles turned to regard his sister sitting next to him in the front passenger seat of the car, being met by fierce yellow eyes that dared him to disagree, and a haughty smile when Charles kept his mouth shut. With one further look pointed look Raven turned once more to gaze out of the front window, smoothing her hands carefully over the wedding binder she carried with her at all times, and Charles couldn’t help but be reminded of the last time he’d made this journey with Raven.

Back then Raven had been the one getting married, only in those days she’d preferred to maintain the illusion of her ‘human’ form at all times rather than let her naturally blue skin be seen in public. Over the past few years a great deal had changed, not least of which was Raven’s attitude towards her mutation becoming considerably more relaxed, and Charles knew very clearly the most prevalent reason for her change in opinion.

As Charles drove he tilted his gaze up to the rear-view mirror of the car, seeing a small blue mutant securely strapped into a car seat in the back, sleeping soundly. Kurt was now almost three years old, and ever since he’d been born Raven had been forced to reconsider her stance on her own appearance, given that her son was born with a visible mutation that he had no way of hiding. Charles could tell there were still occasions when Raven would get a little insecure about it, but most of the time she seemed to very much take on the guise of fierce mother tigress, and she would happy glare down anyone who dared to comment on her son’s or her own appearance.

“You know, you shouldn’t say things like ‘there’s nothing that can do wrong’”, Charles said, raising his eyebrows at Raven. “You run the risk of cursing the whole wedding”.

Raven scoffed. “Yeah right. I know you’re not superstitious, Charles, so don’t go getting paranoid on me now. I’m telling you- I’ve planned this wedding meticulously. Everything’s going to be fine”.

“I hope so… You know how I feel about these big showy events- the bigger the spectacle the more likely it is that everything could all fall spectacularly to pieces”.

“Which is exactly why you’re so unbelievably lucky to have an amazing sister like me to take care of everything. I’m telling you, bro- please just relax. This is your special time, so just chill out and enjoy yourself, and leave the specifics to me”.

Raven reached over to give Charles’ arm a comforting squeeze, before turning around in her seat to check on Kurt- immediately being greeted by the onset of sleepy chattering as the small mutant began to wake up. Meanwhile Charles continued to look straight out of the window, seeing the sight of an imposing building slowly come into view.

Seeing the same large manor hotel where Raven got married immediately began to stir up a series of memories for Charles of the last time he’d been at the venue. The last full day he’d spent there had been for Raven’s wedding, where he had watched Raven get married in the daytime before partying endlessly into the early hours of the next morning. That night had been one of the best of Charles’ life, and he could only hope that his own wedding night might turn out to be similarly wonderful…

 

****

 

Charles didn’t think he could have been prouder than the moment when he saw Raven exchange vows with Azazel. It had been a somewhat rocky road to get there, but finally the two of them were married and Charles was unbelievably happy that his sister was starting her life with the man she loved. The only question was- would Charles’ own future love life be able to run just as smoothly?

When Charles had first come to the wedding he’d been incredibly nervous about the prospect of seeing his ex-boyfriend. Since he and Erik had ended their relationship they hadn’t spoken at all, and to begin with the meeting was exactly as Charles had feared- awkward to begin with and even downright hostile at times. But eventually Charles and Erik had slowly begun to find their way back to each other, and now Charles was filled with giddy anticipation at the prospect of what joy there might be to come in their lives, if only he could manage to get some time alone with Erik to get things started…

Following the actual wedding ceremony Charles was of course required to perform all sorts of duties given that he had taken on the ‘Father of the Bride’ role, so for the first couple of hours he was pretty much glued to Raven’s side as he had his picture taken and helped out by directing other guests to where they needed to be and so on. Throughout the afternoon Charles kept stealing little glances at Erik, but he wasn’t afforded the chance to talk to him until much later.

Before that opportunity arose Charles first had to spend a couple of hours sat at the head table as everyone enjoyed their ‘wedding breakfast’- a meal that was actually held at around 4pm but that Raven insisted had to be called by its correct British title. After food had been served there were around half a dozen speeches before all the guests were free to relax and get a drink at the bar until the evening reception, though of course Charles was still needed to assist Raven with various tasks and so he didn’t end up speaking to Erik until the reception was well underway. As soon as Charles had a free moment he headed over to the table where he could see Erik sitting by himself drinking a large glass of whiskey, immediately starting to apologise for being absent all evening.

“Hi”, Charles said, dropping himself down into the seat next to Erik. “I’m so sorry, Raven has been relentless all day, as you can imagine. How are you? Are you having a good time?”

Charles paused, looking at Erik hopefully and with a small amount of concern. He knew that Erik wasn’t really one for extravagant parties, and was more than a little worried that Erik would be hating the evening and regretting ever coming- particularly as Charles had been kept away from him for hours. However, to Charles’ surprise, Erik immediately smiled- the expression warm and content and completely fucking seductive.

“I’m having a great time, Charles”, Erik replied. “As a matter of fact, I was just enjoying the entertainment on offer…”

Erik looked past Charles’ shoulder pointedly and Charles turned to follow his gaze, being greeted by the sight of Raven and Azazel performing some sort of ridiculous dance whilst Hank looked on in bemusement from the side-lines.

“Ah, I see”, Charles grinned, laughing as Hank quickly got dragged onto the dancefloor in spite of his emphatic protests. Charles knew that if he wasn’t careful he would also get caught up in the night’s festivities soon, and so he quickly moved to sit on the seat behind Erik, pulling the chair closer so they could talk more privately. But before Charles could say anything he was interrupted by Erik reaching over to grasp his hand, squeezing Charles’ palm firmly as he smiled at him.

“Have I told you yet how beautiful you look today, Charles?” Erik murmured.

Immediately Charles found himself leaning into the warmth of Erik’s body, brushing his knees up against Erik’s as he smiled at him.

“Thank you, darling- you look gorgeous yourself. I’ve missed seeing you in a suit, although that’s not to say I’ve been able to stop thinking about how you’ll look out of it when I get you back to my room later…”

“Is that so?” Erik smirked, sliding one hand to cup Charles’ face, the caress of his thumb against Charles’ jawline making him shiver. “Well, in that case maybe we should make our way there now…”

“Ah… We can’t. The reception is only just starting- it’s going to be hours before it becomes an appropriate time for us to slip away”.

“You mean I’m going to have to wait this whole evening for an opportunity to ravage you?”

Charles couldn’t help but blush in response to Erik’s words, particularly as they instantly made Charles’ imagination run away with itself, remembering all the incredible things Erik was capable of doing with his hands and mouth and cock…

“Yes…” Charles replied, swallowing hard. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to keep your hands to yourself for some time at least”.

“These hands?” Erik asked with mock innocence, immediately reaching down and sliding both his palms along Charles’ thighs until they came to a stop perilously close to Charles’ crotch. Charles immediately let out a helpless whimper, followed by a redacted moan as Erik’s thumb moved to brush briefly against the line of Charles’ slowly hardening cock.

“Ah, Erik- don’t…” Charles murmured, quickly grasping both of Erik’s hands with his own to stop any further advancements. “This is hard enough as it is”.

“Oh, I don’t know- I think it could be harder…” Erik grinned, prompting Charles to shoot him a disapproving look that Erik clearly caught the meaning of as his expression immediately turned contrite.

“Alright- have it your way, Charles. I’ll behave myself…”

“You’d better…” Charles replied, thinking that Erik’s version of ‘best behaviour’ might not be exactly what Charles was looking for.

 

However, to Charles’ surprise, Erik conducted himself almost impeccably all evening. For the majority of the night he sat with Charles and they talked and watched the people on the dancefloor make absolute fools of themselves, and Charles couldn’t help but think about how normal it all felt to be sat with Erik like this- intimate, happy, together- like they had never been apart.

Later in the evening Charles was dragged to the dancefloor by an overenthusiastic Raven, and was coerced into participating in a number of cheesy dance routines that Charles barely knew the moves to. Erik declined to participate, naturally. He remained sat at a table at the side of the room, watching Charles with a small expression of amusement on his face that only increased as the evening wore on and the guests grew more rowdy. The free bar on offer certainly contributed to many guests’ growing extravagancy, but for once Charles remained the pinnacle of sobriety.       

Over the past two weeks Charles had got himself into untold amounts of trouble on account of his drinking, and he’d been thinking very seriously about cutting down on his alcohol intake. A wedding reception might not have been the ideal moment to commence sobriety, but just the idea of spending the night in bed with Erik feeling completely present and aware for the first time in over a year was an appealing enough reason to give it a try.

And so, later that night Charles was for once completely clear-headed as he walked eagerly down the corridor towards his room, Erik’s hand clutched tightly within his own. As soon as they were inside it didn’t take long for things to turn heated, and Charles found that seeing Erik in his immaculate suit was nowhere near as fun as peeling him out of it…

After such a long wait Charles found that he was more than happy to turn off his phone, lock his door, and generally do everything he could to shut out the outside world in order to concentrate on Erik- a task made easy by the fact that Erik was as commanding and compelling as ever. He stripped Charles slowly, taking time to press kisses to every millimetre of Charles’ skin, and by the time Charles was naked and straddling Erik’s waist he felt so unbelievable aroused that he was simply aching to have Erik’s cock inside himself at long last, and apparently he wasn’t the only one cherishing their renewed coupling.

“I’ve missed this…” Erik murmured.

Charles smiled, leaning over Erik so that their bare chests were pressed together and smoothing his hands slowly through Erik’s hair. “Darling, we were in a very similar position to this around fifteen hours ago…”

“I know that”, Erik grinned, giving Charles’ arse a firm squeeze with both hands. “What I mean is I’ve missed doing this on a regular basis- seeing you, holding you, kissing you…” Erik trailed off wistfully, his smile fading slightly as he added: “The thing is, I was just wondering if you’ve given any thought into what’s going to happen when we get back to America?”

Charles hadn’t. Being at the hotel for Raven’s wedding had been almost like living in a bubble, and there was part of Charles that didn’t really want to consider what it would be like to return home- particularly as he couldn’t help but wonder whether himself and Erik might still be plagued by the same problems that had broken them up before.

“We were supposed to talk about things, weren’t we?” Charles replied, chewing on his lower lip. “We kept saying we would but we haven’t yet”.

“Mm, I know… I can’t believe we still haven’t got round to talking- that we keep getting distracted by ‘other things’. I think it’s your fault, you know. You’re so desperate for my cock you keep skipping over our chance to talk…”

Charles laughed, shoving playfully at Erik’s chest. “Oh, is that right?”

Erik nodded, a smug grin on his face. “Absolutely. It’s completely shocking behaviour- personally I think you should be punished…” At that, he lifted one of his hands up and brought it down on Charles’ arse with a resounding smack, causing Charles to yelp and squirm helplessly but still grin in spite of himself.

“Ah, Erik- don’t. We really do need to talk…” Charles protested, trying to look disapproving but failing miserably as Erik spanked him again and Charles let out a delighted giggle.

“Are you sure, Charles?” Erik replied, diverting his attention towards holding Charles still and shifting his hips to rub his cock along the line of Charles’ buttocks. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather just let me fuck you senseless?”

“Erikkkkkkkkkkk”, Charles whined, groaning as Erik’s cock brushed tantalising against certain sensitive parts that made him shiver. “Please, darling- just a quick chat, okay?”

Charles could feel the head of Erik’s cock already slick with pre-come pushing up against his arse, and there was part of him that wondered whether Erik would really be willing to contain his arousal. But, to Erik’s credit, he quickly desisted and transferred his hands to hold Charles’ waist instead, looking at Charles’ expectantly as he waited for him to speak.

Now that Charles had been given the opportunity to talk he found himself feeling distinctly nervous, forever wary of saying or doing something to destroy what he and Erik were tentatively rebuilding. But then Charles realised that perhaps that was the problem- it felt very much like they were trying to reconstruct the relationship they’d had before, one that ultimately hadn’t worked, and perhaps the way to ensure success was just to start something completely new instead.

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” Charles blurted out.

Immediately Erik smiled, lifting his head to chastely brush the tip of his nose against Charles’ before he settled down again.

“Liebling, of course I’d like to go on a date with you, but is that really necessary? Are we not already way past dating?”

Charles shook his head. “No, Erik- that’s the issue. I want to be with you, but I don’t want us to just go back to how things were before because that didn’t work. I think the best chance we have of making a go of this is to start completely fresh, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Erik frowned. “You want us to just pretend like the entire year we spent together, everything we did, everything we shared never happened?”

“Noooo”, Charles replied quickly, sensing Erik’s upset and wanting to act swiftly to put Erik’s mind at ease. “No, darling- I’m not saying that. I just… I just think we should take things slow and not rush into anything- not take each other for granted, you know? So when we get home I’d like to take you out on a date, so we can take the time to get to know each other again, to find out about everything that’s gone on in each of our lives in the time we spent apart. Is that… is that okay?”

For a moment Charles was worried that Erik might be offended by his suggestion, that he might not understand Charles’ need for them to be cautious in pursuing their renewed involvement with each other, particularly given that Erik sometimes had a tendency to be rather sensitive when he feared that Charles was pushing him away. But, to Charles’ immense relief, after a moment Erik nodded his acceptance, cradling Charles’ head in both his hands as he tilted his face up to press a kiss to Charles’ cheek.

“Okay, baby- whatever you want”, Erik said softly.

“Really?” Charles asked, looking down at Erik and feeling like he needed to be sure this was really what Erik wanted too.

Erik nodded. “Charles, surely you know by now that I’d do anything for you? If you think this is the best plan for our future then I’m happy to go along with whatever you suggest”. At that moment another line of thought clearly occurred to Erik, as his brows drew together in a slight frown and he added: “However… Does this mean that we can’t have sex until we’ve been ‘dating’ for a while?”

Charles smiled, trailing the fingertips of one hand gently down Erik’s chest. “Oh, darling- would I really do that to you? Besides, we technically had sex before we’d even been on a single date the first time we got together- why should this be any different?”

A delicious shiver ran through Charles as Erik drew his fingertips slowly down Charles’ spine. “ _Wunderbar_ ”, Erik replied, before he pulled Charles’ head down for a kiss.

 

****

 

As Charles pulled into the carpark of the hotel grounds his thoughts lingered on that night with Erik- how it had been the start of so many things, how they’d had so many good intentions… It had always been the case during Charles’ entire relationship with Erik- their best laid plans had rarely worked out, and though on that occasion Charles had intended for them to take things slow and not rush into anything, things inevitably worked out in an entirely different manner…

The course of events that followed soon led Charles and Erik down a path that they could not hope to come back from, a path that inevitably led them to this place, this time, and this wedding, and though Charles sometimes thought of all the ways things could have been different, he knew that, whatever happened, they would always have ended up here.

 

After arriving at the hotel Charles wasted no time in helping escort Raven to her room, given that she and Kurt came with an extraordinary amount of baggage.

“Remind me, what time is Azazel getting here?” Raven asked, holding onto Kurt with one hand and wheeling a suitcase with another. “If he’s going to pop in within the next few minutes then maybe we should wait a bit so he can get the bags”.

Charles paused where he was carefully balancing three large holdalls on top of each other on a trolley, looking over at Raven questioningly. “Um, didn’t Azazel tell you…” Charles started cautiously.

“Tell me what?”

“Well, that he’s not getting here until tomorrow…”

“What??” Raven exclaimed, immediately letting go of her suitcase so it fell to the ground but mercifully keeping hold of Kurt. “But he has to be here tonight- that’s part of the schedule! There’s a dinner and drinks this evening to mark the start of the festivities- I told you about this, Charles!”

Charles smiled apologetically. “I know- I’m sorry, love. But there’s this important meeting first thing in the morning…”

“Oh, I should have known- your fiancé can’t bear to be away from work for a single minute, so of course he has to go to a meeting when he should be here celebrating his impending marriage to you… God, Charles- this is just so inconvenient…”

Charles pursed his lips, sensing that arguing with Raven would only serve to make her mood worse, and instead trying to think of a way to placate her.

“Raven…” Charles began carefully. “For the past several months I’ve heard you talk about this wedding non-stop. I know how important it is to you, and I know how carefully you’ve planned it all out. Therefore, I know that nothing could possibly go wrong. If there are two less people at one particular dinner it’s not going to make a difference- we’re all going to have a fantastic time because you’ve done everything necessary to ensure we will. It will be fine, Raven”.

With Charles’ words Raven’s expression grew less frantic, and she visibly calmed as she let out a long steady breath. “Okay…” she said eventually. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Charles- I just want so badly for this to be the perfect wedding for you. I want everything to go exactly to plan because you’re such a good brother and you deserve the best. And… and I kind of feel like it owe it to you, after everything you both did for me--"

Charles cleared his throat pointedly, looking around the room to see if anyone was listening. “Let’s not talk about that now…” he interjected, reaching over to give Raven’s hand a quick squeeze. “Just do me a favour and try not to worry about everything running like clockwork. To be honest, as long as I get to marry the man I love in two weeks’ time then that will be enough to keep me happy”.

“Alright”, Raven replied, smiling gratefully. “I guess you always did like the simpler things in life…” she added, before she once again turned her attention towards carrying her bags upstairs.

 

Despite Raven’s concerns, dinner that night went exactly to plan. Charles was on his best behaviour- sipping on a single glass of wine and spending most of the evening on babysitting detail as he kept Kurt entertained, until Kurt grew tired and fussy and Raven had to take him to bed.

For the rest of the occasion Charles ate and talked and laughed, and in spite of the time difference he found himself growing tired as the night drew in and the hour grew late. Truthfully he was keen to retire to his bed, not least because he had always enjoyed posh hotel rooms, but also because he knew what would be waiting for him there.

As soon as Charles entered his room he immediately withdrew his phone from his pocket, lying down on his bed and lifting the device to his ear as it began to ring out, and waiting for the moment he would hear the soothing sound of his fiancé’s voice.

“ _Hallo_ , Liebling…”

Charles immediately began to smile. It was remarkable how, even after so many years, just the sound of Erik’s voice had the power to make Charles’ heart flip in recognition, as well as stirring certain other parts…

“Hi, darling”, Charles replied, sprawling himself across the bed on his stomach. “How are you? Is everything okay back home?”

“Everything’s fine, Charles. I saw mama today- she sends her love, of course. She’s really looking forward to the wedding, so much so that she won’t stop going on about it… I only wish I could persuade her to let Azazel transport her to the venue, but she’s insistent on travelling by plane. But never mind about that- how are things over there? Is Raven driving you crazy yet?”

Charles smiled wryly. “Only a little… You know it’s only because she cares”.

“Yes, I know. I just wish her particular method of caring involved buying me expensive shoes rather than making me participate in thirteen different dinner events... Thirteen, Charles! We’ll be lucky if I still fit into my suit for the wedding after all this”.

“Well, thanks to your meeting in the morning you’re down to only twelve dinners, so you should count yourself lucky. What time can I expect you to arrive tomorrow?”

“Azazel’s going to teleport us in at around 6pm your time”.

“Oh good, so you’ll be just in time for our evening meal…” Charles grinned.

The sound of Erik’s laughter coming through the phoneline warmed Charles’ heart, as well as made him feel a pang of longing considering Erik was so far away.

“I miss you…” Charles murmured quietly, wrapping one arm around a pillow and pressing his face into it.

Erik sighed down the phone. “I miss you too, baby. But we’ll see each other soon”.

“Yes, when we’re not preoccupied by Raven’s wedding madness. Who knows how many activities we’ll have to take part in… And she’s insisting that we have to spend the night before the wedding apart- can you believe it? It’s such an antiquated tradition…”

“Well, if you don’t like all these things Raven has planned out then remind me again why you’re going along with it?”

“Because I love her, dummy”, Charles grumbled.

“You can’t call me dummy- you’re marrying me, which would make you a dummy too”.

“Nuh-uh. I’ll just be a dummy’s husband”.

Erik laughed. “Well, I can’t wait for that”.

Charles smiled. “Me too”, he said. After a moment Charles’ grin faded slightly, and he added: “Erik… Did you ever think we’d get here?”

There was a brief pause, and then Erik replied softly: “I’ve never had a doubt in my mind, Charles. It’s always been you”.

Charles sighed contentedly. “I know, darling- I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean… Given everything that happened to us, with Raven and then the proposal… I suppose I’ve always felt like something might go wrong before the wedding, so I’m a little bit shocked that nothing has”.

“Nothing is going to happen, Charles”, Erik said determinedly. “I’m marrying you in two weeks’ time, come hell or high water”.

“You promise?”

Erik chuckled softly, and Charles felt like he could predict the words before he heard them.

“I do…”


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

Although Charles had been somewhat apprehensive about commencing the two week long extravaganza that was to be his wedding, he knew it would be worth it to be able to marry the man he loved (and to keep his sister happy). The only problem was, that man was currently thousands of miles away, meaning that Charles was stuck celebrating his upcoming wedding on his own…

Waking up without Erik was hard, particularly as Charles had become accustomed to returning to consciousness each morning prompted by the feeling of Erik’s lips gently brushing against his forehead, and sensing the presence of the cup of tea Erik had thoughtfully prepared to rouse him from sleep. Charles had never been much of a morning person even when he tried to be, but Erik was- meaning that more often than not Charles was woken early regardless, but not necessarily forced to get up... Erik usually liked to get his blood pumping early on by going for a morning run, meaning that he often had lots of extra energy left over- energy that he liked to expend in bed, even if Charles needed to get up for work at the time. However, on this occasion there was no one to keep Charles beneath the sheets, and so he quickly withdrew from bed and began to get showered and dressed, ready to start his day.

Fortunately for Charles, Raven hadn’t planned anything too taxing for that particular morning. There was a nice, simple breakfast held in one of the hotel’s lavish dining halls, during which Charles sat at a table with Raven, Kurt, and Hank- who had also arrived the previous night. Charles was looking forward to a quiet breakfast, but he soon discovered that being one of the grooms-to-be meant that he was very much the centre of attention, and he could barely manage a mouthful of food each time before the next well-wisher came over to talk to Charles and, most often, ask him where Erik was.

“This is exhausting…” Charles said quietly to Hank, after the most recent guest had been lured away by Charles’ suggestion that they eat their breakfast before it went cold.

Hank shrugged. “I guess it’s to be expected, Charles- everyone is here because of either you or Erik, so it stands to reason that they’re going to want to spend time with you”.

“Mm, I know, and it’s lovely to see everyone, of course, I just… I just wish Erik was here”.

“Awwww”, Raven said, smiling at Charles from across the table. “You big softie”, she teased.

Raven was sat with Kurt in her lap and was attempting to feed him some fruit, but Kurt was apparently much more interested in playing with the knives and forks on the table and it was proving difficult to control him, particularly when there was not only two arms and two legs but also a tail to contend with…

“Was it like this for you and Azazel too?” Charles asked, reaching over to quickly remove an expensive looking glass from Kurt’s reach.

“Well, yes and no”, Raven replied, looking relieved as Kurt finally began to eat something. “As Azazel’s a teleporter I never really had much opportunity to miss him- he could always just pop back home at a moment’s notice no matter what he was doing. But yes, I never really liked being apart from him. I still don’t…” she finished wistfully.

“He’ll be here before long. Erik told me that as soon as the meeting is finished they’re going to come straight over. They should both be here in time for dinner tonight”.

“I hope so… I don’t really want to have any more setbacks…”

“We won’t”, Charles said confidently.

 

Of course, Charles should probably have known that things wouldn’t quite work out as expected, particularly when it was an Xavier wedding…

For the rest of the day Charles tried his best to relax and enjoy the wedding festivities, and in truth he really did like talking to the friends and acquaintances of himself and Erik all day, as well as hearing all of the nice things people had to say about their upcoming nuptials. Charles had always been a naturally sociable person, and it was a joy to speak to so many different people on a whole range of topics, though Charles couldn’t help but think that maybe it was perhaps a good thing that Erik wasn’t here yet, given he had never favoured large crowds.

When the evening drew in it was soon time for dinner, and Charles dressed in a smart blue shirt and black trousers for the event- excited at the thought that he would be seeing Erik at any moment. The guests all gathered in one of the hotel’s reception rooms as they waited to be called in to eat, but as Charles sat on a sofa playing with Kurt he could tell that Raven was getting anxious…

“I thought Erik said they’d be here by now?” Raven said, looking at the time on her phone impatiently. “We’re about to be called in for dinner any second and they’ve still not arrived”.

“Try to relax, love- I’m sure they’ll be here soon”.

“Well, have you heard anything from Erik? Has he told you about any delay?”

Charles withdrew his phone from his pocket, checking it and seeing that there were no new notifications. “No, sorry. But I’m sure everything’s fine”.

Raven scowled slightly. “You know, this sunny optimism of yours isn’t always so helpful…”

“Yes, you’ve mentioned that once or twice before…” Charles smirked. Raven rolled her eyes, and Charles quickly realised that she was in danger of getting herself worked up unless Charles did something to distract her.

“Kurt’s growing wonderfully, isn’t he?” Charles said, looking down at the small mutant beside himself on the sofa who was happily working on fitting various plastic shapes together. “I swear the last time I saw him he had no clue how to work this puzzle, but now he can do it effortlessly”.

At the mention of Kurt’s name, Raven’s expression immediately softened. “I know. He’s a little genius- way smarter than either me or Azazel already. I honestly don’t know where he gets it from. If I didn’t know any better I’d say he has some of your genetics in him”.

Charles smiled, running one hand affectionately through Kurt’s dark hair and immediately being met by a set of large yellow eyes that turned to gaze up at him. “Nope, he’s definitely your kid- it’s undeniable. I think it’s so fascinating how he’s a perfect combination of yours and Azazel’s mutations. Simply stunning”.

“Charles…” Raven said, prompting Charles to look up at her and immediately finding a somewhat disapproving look on Raven’s face. “I know you think all mutations are wonderful, but you also know that the world doesn’t always have a tendency to treat our kind with the upmost respect- everything that happened two years ago is evidence enough of that. Kurt’s mutation could hardly be described as ‘perfect’. He doesn’t even have the ability to hide it”.

“He shouldn’t have to hide it”.

“Really? Because that’s not what you used to say to me when we were younger. I know that being with Erik may have broadened your feelings on the subject of mutant transparency, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are billions of people out there who will look at Kurt and won’t think he’s as adorable as you do. I’m just trying to protect him. It’s what I’ve always done”.

“Yes, and look where that got us…” Charles mumbled, immediately regretting his words when Raven’s expression grew forlorn. He opened his mouth to apologise, but before he could Raven let out a small sigh and stepped over to take a seat on the sofa next to Kurt.

“You know I think he’s beautiful, Charles…” Raven said, wrapping one of her arms around Kurt’s tiny shoulders and giving him a quick squeeze. “I just sometimes wish he could shapeshift like me, or teleport like Azazel- at least then he’d have some way of defending himself”.

“Why does he need that? He has a mother and father and two very proud uncles to protect him”.

Raven smiled. “True”.

At that, Charles leaned over to press a fond kiss to Raven’s forehead, content that at least Raven was no longer freaking out about Erik and Azazel’s lateness… For now…

Charles looked at his phone again, hoping for a message from Erik but finding himself left disappointed. He couldn’t help but be concerned that Erik was about to let him down. After all, he and Erik had often had a tendency to make promises to each other that they couldn’t necessarily keep…

 

****

 

There were many things Charles missed about Erik during the time they were apart- things that were uniquely _Erik_ like the seductive tone of his voice, the look of concentration on his face whenever he used his mutation, and his incredible cooking skills. Charles was eager to experience all those things again, but he and Erik had decided that they would take things slowly to begin with, and that they wouldn’t just rush into anything. With that in mind, Charles was prepared for a somewhat frustrating first few weeks with Erik after they returned home, but things didn’t quite go to plan... Despite Charles’ best intentions to finally speak to Erik properly about everything that had happened between the two of them, he soon found himself getting distracted by his desire to relive certain other ‘highlights’ of his former relationship with Erik, things that he hadn’t been able to get from any other partner before or since…

Unfortunately, all thoughts of ‘taking it slow’ had been wilfully set aside by the time Charles was riling on Erik’s bed, the cool metal of the bedframe wrapped around his wrists and ankles keeping him in place. The feeling was something so familiar and yet something he hadn’t experienced in his long time, but his body responded to it willingly- like it was an old song and he still knew all the words. Between Charles’ legs his cock was hard and urgent, being stroked generously by a firm grip once… twice… and then… nothing.

“Erikkkkkkkkkk”, Charles whined, keening at the lack of stimulation to his aching cock. He didn’t need to look down to guess what the expression on Erik’s face was like, but he did so anyway and was immediately greeted by the sight of Erik knelt between his spread legs- naked, glorious, and completely fucking teasing…

“What’s the matter, Liebling?” Erik murmured, drawing the palm of one large hand down Charles’ inner thigh. “Did you want something?”

Charles shook his head, biting his lip to conceal his frustration, but then Erik’s was stroking his cock again and Charles was gasping and moaning at just the slightest touch- rocking helplessly into Erik’s grasp before Erik swiftly moved his hand away.

“I could keep you on the edge like this forever, couldn’t I Charles? Almost there, but not quite... Because I know exactly how you like it, I know exactly what will push you over and make you come _screaming_ my name. You’re at my mercy, Charles. Tell me what you want. Beg me for it”.

Erik used one hand to cup Charles’ balls, and even the sensation from that was enough to have Charles crying out.

“Erik…” Charles panted, sweat dampening the sheets beneath himself on the bed Erik had now had him tied to for almost an hour. “Erik, _please_ … Please touch me… Touch my cock… Please, darling…”

“Tell me you want me…” Erik said softly, leaning over Charles.

“I want you… _Fuck_ , Erik- I want you…”

“Tell me that you’re mine…”

“I’m yours. Always, Erik- I’ve always been yours”.

Erik smiled, before leaning close to press a brief kiss to Charles’ forehead. “Good boy…” he murmured, and then he was touching Charles again and it felt so intense and so good that Charles soon felt like he forgot everything else in the universe, except for Erik’s name.

 

Some time later though, sentient thought returned.

“Erik, we said we were going to take it slow…” Charles said gently, stroking his hand through Erik’s hair. It had been their intention ever since they returned to America, but it had now been almost a week of days that ended up exactly like this, and clearly Erik realised as much from the way he looked up from where he was lying with his head resting on Charles’ chest, shooting him a pointed glance.

“You didn’t seem too interested in taking it slow thirty minutes ago, Charles… Or three hours ago, or yesterday, or the day before…”

A short sigh left Charles’ lips. “Oh gosh, I know- I’m sorry…”

“Liebling, I’m not complaining…” Erik grinned.

Charles smiled back. “Yes, I know that too. I suppose I’m just a little bit annoyed at myself for getting so caught up in… in _this_. I really do want us to start again and do this properly, but somehow we keep ending up in bed instead”.

“I guess that’s probably a bit my fault too…”

“A bit?” Charles laughed. “Erik, you’ve been determined to take my pants off every time I’ve seen you for the past week”.

“Well, can you blame me? You keep saying such sexy things that make me find you completely irresistible…”

“Erik, one time all I said to you was ‘hello’…”

Erik laughed, causing vibrations to run through Charles’ chest from where Erik was pressed against him. “Well, maybe it’s just the way you said it…” Erik smirked.

Charles rolled his eyes, laughing in spite of himself as he dropped his head back against the pillow. He supposed he couldn’t really blame Erik- Charles had been just as culpable on all those occasions when they had eagerly set aside all obligations and thrown themselves into bed, sometimes not even managing to make it through one simple date before they jumped in a cab and sped off to either one of their houses for a quick fuck (or not so quick, if Erik had his way). Still, even though Charles had been having a wonderful time rolling around between the sheets with Erik, he knew he really did want to start things off properly.

“It’s my fault…” Charles sighed, covering his face with his hand. “I should have more self-control than this…”

For a moment afterwards Erik remained quiet, but then Charles felt him shift and opened his eyes to find Erik leaning over with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“This is really important to you, isn’t it Charles?” Erik asked quietly.

Charles shrugged, chewing on his lower lip. “I know it probably seems silly, but--”

“If it’s important to you then it’s not silly”, Erik interjected. “I give you my word that I won’t make any advances towards you anymore. We’ll go on dates, we’ll hold hands in the park, we’ll wear fucking promise rings if that’s what you want. Whatever it takes to make you happy”.

Charles smiled, gazing up at Erik and reaching up to gently cup his face.

“You make me happy…” Charles whispered.

Erik leaned close, kissing along Charles’ jawline before he murmured in Charles’ ear: “I hope you’re still saying that when I’m no longer giving you orgasms…”

 

Fortunately, Charles’ happiness continued to remain intact even when he wasn’t spending every night pinned underneath Erik. They went on dates- dinners, movies, and trips out- and in-between the meetings they talked, _really talked_ , about everything that had happened during their relationship in the past- the good times and the bad, and ultimately the events that had led to them breaking up. It was therapeutic to get everything out in the open and Charles was pleased to realise that they could each talk calmly about their past issues without getting worked up- perhaps a clear sign of the growth they’d each experienced. Then, at the end of the second week of ‘dating’, Charles’ renewed relationship with Erik grew even more appealing as he was treated to an amazing meal prepared by Erik in his apartment.

After they’d finished eating Charles had been anticipating a long evening lying on the sofa with Erik watching television, but when Charles had yawned for perhaps the second time he’d been surprised to see Erik suddenly turn off the TV with his powers.

“I should get you home…” Erik said, starting to rise from the sofa and unseating Charles who had been sprawled in his lap.

“Um, you want me to leave?”

Erik paused, looking at Charles who was staring over with confusion evident on his face.

“Well, no but… Charles, I thought you’d want to leave? You’ve always preferred sleeping alone”.

“Oh, Erik…” Charles said softly, reaching over to gently squeeze Erik’s hand. “Darling, that’s not true. I _love_ sleeping next to you. I’ve missed it… I just haven’t stayed over during the past couple of weeks simply because I wasn’t sure I could trust myself”.

“And now you can? Wait, does that mean I’ve done something this evening to make myself seem incredibly hideous and unappealing to you…”

Charles laughed. “Not exactly. But honestly I’m so tired I don’t think I’d be able to do anything that exciting to you anyway. I just want to curl up in your big cosy bed and go to sleep. Is that okay?”

“Sounds perfect”, Erik said with a warm smile.

 

Half an hour later Charles was exactly where he wanted to be- in Erik’s arms, safe and warm, pressed against Erik’s chest with Erik murmuring sweet German nothings into his ear. It was startling to realise how much it felt like coming home, even after they’d spent so much time apart, and Charles knew this was where he was happiest, where he had _always_ been happiest.

“I’ve missed this…” Charles murmured quietly.

Charles was incredibly comfortable and he could hear the steady rhythm of Erik’s heart beneath himself and his eyes were slipping shut, and he was so relaxed he almost didn’t hear what Erik said next, until the point the words registered and Charles jolted back into full consciousness.

“Move in with me…”

Charles’ eyes snapped open, before he slowly lifted his head from Erik’s chest to look for an explanation, wondering for a moment if perhaps Erik had been talking in his sleep. It was clear that Erik was completely aware though- the mild look of alarm on his face betrayed that much.

“You… what?” Charles asked.

Erik slid both hands to hold Charles’ face as he said: “Charles, I want you to move in with me”.

“But… But what about talking it slow…?”

“Oh, fuck taking it slow”, Erik scoffed. “Charles, has anyone ever told you that you think too much? I understand why you’re concerned about rushing things- you think that if we make the wrong move we’ll mess this up again- but I’m more interested in how you _feel_. I don’t like being apart from you, Charles- I never have. You’re well within your rights to want to take things slow, but I’m selfish and I want you there when I go to sleep at night and when I wake up each morning. I want _all of you_ , all the time. Now, tell me- how do you feel about that?”

For a while Charles didn’t say anything, and he could do little more than lie there and stare at Erik, completely taken back by Erik’s offer and unsure of how to respond. Charles’ heart told him ‘yes’ but he had never been very good at listening to that, and there was a bigger part of himself that was scared, that didn’t want to do anything to risk ruining what they had, particularly when it was going so well. But if Charles was going to say no then he had to be careful with how he chose to explain himself, as he knew Erik had a tendency to be rather sensitive any time he felt like Charles was rejecting him.

“Erik I… I think it’s too soon…”

Instantly Charles knew he had upset Erik. Though, to his credit, Erik didn’t immediately try to argue with Charles or push him away, he did give Charles a long soulful look that made Charles’ heart ache with sorrow, before he loosened his hold on Charles and folded his arms behind his head, tilting his face to the side and closing his eyes.

“Erik…” Charles started.

“ _Vergiss es_. Go to sleep, Charles”.

Charles stared at Erik’s pensive face for a long moment, unsure of what, if anything, he should say to make things better. He knew how much he cared for Erik, how much he really did value the two of them having a future together, but there was always voice inside of himself that told Charles to be cautious; to not leap too far when there was a risk of not being caught. For a long time Charles had accepted the voice as just a part of his mentality, perhaps an ingrained fear that came as a result of having a mother and stepfather who were distant and unloving, leaving Charles feeling like he wasn’t worthy of affection from anyone. But Erik had shown Charles trust, he had shown him love and kindness, and perhaps it was time for Charles to return the favour and speak his mind for once.

Erik had always made Charles feel safe, and Charles hoped to retain that same feeling of security as he pressed his face into the crook of Erik’s neck, hiding in plain sight as he finally allowed himself to say the words he’d held contained in his heart for far too long.

“Erik… _I love you_ …”

The reaction from Erik’s mind gave away more than the physical signs did. Although Erik appeared to remain calm his mind exploded in a riot of colour, painting Charles in vibrant blues and intense reds and passionate pinks as Erik absorbed the words, felt them within his heart, allowed them to heal the part of his soul that had always feared that the love he felt for Charles would never be returned. It was what Erik needed, Charles had always known that, and though it had taken such a long time Charles just hoped that, for Erik, it had been worth the wait.

Erik turned towards Charles, letting out a long sigh as he nudged his face against Charles’ hair and murmured: “If you think I’m taking things slow after that you’re fucking crazy…”

A short laugh left Charles’ lips. “Are you telling me that declarations of love aren’t immediately followed by people taking a long break from each other?”

“No, Liebling. Usually after that couples move forward, together, often in the same home…”

“But… But I’m a terrible cook”.

“I know, that’s why I can cook and you can wash the dishes”.

“You talk in your sleep”.

“You’re a good listener”.

“I have far too many books to fit into this apartment”.

“So we get somewhere new- a fresh start, in a house that we both choose together”.

With all objections quickly running out Charles paused, before slowly lifting his head and turning towards Erik, being met by Erik’s penetrative gaze and there, within the spectrum of colour in Erik’s eyes, a certain look of determination. Erik had always been very good at getting his own way, after all.

“You really think we could make it work…?” Charles asked quietly.

Erik smiled in return. “Charles, I love you. I’m not letting you out of my life again, so yes- we _will_ make this work. You have my word on that”.

Leaps of faith didn’t come naturally to Charles, but was it really that much of a gamble when Erik seemed so sure?

“Okay then”, Charles replied. He barely had time to get the words out before Erik was kissing him, and the way Charles felt confirmed to him that it was the right decision to make.

 

****

 

Of course, nothing in life was ever perfect, and though Charles and Erik had taken a huge step forward in their relationship at that point Charles knew it didn’t guarantee that everything would run smoothly in their future.

That much was evident as Charles sat in the reception room at the hotel, still waiting for Erik to make an appearance like he’d promised. Most of the guests had already filtered into the dining hall to be seated whilst Charles had lingered with Raven and Kurt outside, but it was becoming clear that they couldn’t delay much longer, particularly when Hank popped his head out to tell them both that dinner was being served.

“Well this is just great…” Raven fumed, scooping Kurt up into her arms and stomping off towards Hank, whilst Charles checked his phone one last time in hope of a message from Erik. There was nothing, and Charles inhaled a long sigh as he slid his phone back into his pocket, trying to prepare himself for another long evening without his future husband by his side.

As it happened though, Charles had barely taken one step towards the dining room when there were two hands on his shoulders squeezing firmly, and a swell of warm breath against the shell of his ear as a voice murmured: “Buh”.

Charles turned, immediately being greeted by the gorgeous spectacle of Erik grinning down at him, looking stunning in smart black trousers and a grey shirt with a tie.

“ _Guten Abend_ , beautiful…”

“Hi…” Charles replied, unable to resist succumbing to a smile even though he was a little annoyed at Erik for not arriving when he said he would. “What happened to you? Why are you so late?”

“Oh, the meeting overran a little- that’s all. I’m sorry, Charles- I wasn’t able to call you to let you know, but I had Azazel pop us over here as soon as we were finished. He’s in there now, likely trying to beg Raven for forgiveness… Tell me- do I need to do some similar begging?”

At that, Erik tried his best to look contrite and apologetic by sticking out his lower lip, but the expression only served to make Charles laugh.

“No, I’ll let you off. I’m just glad you’re here now- it’s no fun being the groom-to-be on your own and having everyone ask you where your fiancé is”.

“Mm, I bet. Well, why don’t we head in there now, and you can make everyone feel incredibly jealous when they get to see this handsome fiancé you’ve no doubt been going on about”.

Charles smirked. “Oh, he couldn’t make it, Erik, so I suppose you’ll have to do”.

The smack Charles received to his arse came as no surprise to him, and Charles was only too happy to go willingly as Erik wrapped his arm around Charles’ shoulders and began to lead him towards the dining room.

 

For the rest of the night, Charles and Erik were both seated at a table with Raven, Azazel, and Hank, and it was clear that Azazel was in a celebratory mood as he was continually calling over waiters to keep everyone’s glasses topped up as well as ordering several rounds of shots. Raven declined, but both Hank and Charles joined Azazel in a more than a few drinks, leaving Charles feeling increasingly tipsy as the evening wore on. Erik, on the other hand, remained uniformly sober as he found himself performing unexpected babysitting duties- not that he minded.

It was always oddly surprising to Charles how good Erik was with children, and he couldn’t help but gaze over adoringly as he watched Erik with Kurt- the small blue mutant sat in Erik’s lap, looking completely transfixed as Erik used his powers to create intricate swirls of metal in the air from what used to be a set of cutlery.

“You’re staring, Charles…” Erik said, looking up at Charles through lowered eyelashes and smirking slightly.

Charles returned his smile. “I can’t help it- you look so cute. Both of you”.

“Feeling broody are we, Charles? You know, no one’s looking- if you want we can steal this one and make a run for it”.

“Great idea”, Charles laughed. “But I think we might get rumbled. After all, it’s not like little Kurt looks like either of us so it’d be quite obvious that he’s not ours”.

“True… Well, child abduction doesn’t really seem like your style anyway- you seem more like the type to cook up some mutant in a lab for us to adopt. That might be nice... We could call him Erik Junior”.

Charles shook his head. “Or Frankie…”

“Huh?” Erik asked, looking quizzically at Charles whilst meanwhile Kurt made a frantic grab for his tie.

“We could call him Frankie”, Charles said, smiling. “Short for Frankenstein’s monster”.

Erik grinned back at Charles. “ _Perfekt_. But before you go running off to play mad scientist, how about we just concentrate on getting through this wedding in one piece, hmm?”

In response Charles moved closer to Erik, grasping hold of Erik’s hand as he dropped his head to rest on Erik’s shoulder. With Charles now in close proximity Kurt immediately turned in Erik’s lap to grab at Charles’ clothing instead, whilst meanwhile Erik pressed a brief kiss to the top of Charles’ head.

Charles sighed contentedly. “Okay, darling. Whatever you say”.


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

After a relatively uneventful first two days of the ‘wedding spectacular’, Charles was beginning to feel like the rest of the occasion might pass by without undue incident.

On the morning after Erik’s arrival Charles awoke to the sound of water running in the shower, the empty space in the bed next to him confirming that Erik had gone out on one of his early runs before Charles had even woke up. Charles had decided to remain lying in bed for a while, his face pressed into the pillow and his eyes sliding shut once more, wondering how long he could get away with lounging in bed before Raven showed up and dragged him off to one of the many activities she had undoubtedly planned. As it happened, it wasn’t Raven that disturbed Charles from sleep, it was something much better…

Charles had just been drifting back into unconsciousness once more when suddenly he’d felt something press against the underside of his foot, making him let out a small yelp as he instinctively wrenched his leg up towards his chest, or at least attempted to…

“Erik!” Charles squeaked, fighting to squirm away as Erik maintained his hold on Charles’ ankle and began to crawl up under the duvet, pressing his mouth to Charles’ foot once more as he did so. Of course, Erik had always known that Charles’ feet were especially ticklish, a weakness he liked to exploit regularly…

“Erikkkkkkk! Stop it!” Charles whined, before succumbing to a helpless giggle as Erik’s mouth began to trail a line along the back of Charles’ calf, the indent of his knee, the sensitive skin of his thigh, and higher up… By the time the warmth of Erik’s breath was coursing over Charles’ buttocks Charles’ protests were growing considerably quieter, particularly as Erik’s hands began to slide underneath Charles’ hips, fingertips just brushing teasingly against Charles’ slowly hardening member.

“You want me to stop, hmm?” Erik murmured, his voice muffled by the blankets he was hiding under but still somehow completely fucking seductive.

“Well, I guess… Maybe you could… Ummm... _Oh god_ ”. Any semblance of sentence Charles was attempting to form was quickly cut off as Erik’s hands slid round to grasp Charles’ buttocks, drawing them apart as he dipped his head down, pressing his mouth to the parts of Charles that always had a tendency to make him shiver, squirm, and succumb to nothing but Erik’s extremely skilled tongue for as long as necessary…

 

Of course, it wasn’t _quite_ as long as Charles would have liked, and a short while later Charles’ phone was giving out a series of successive beeps that told him that someone was persistently trying to contact him- most likely Raven wanting to know why Charles and Erik hadn’t shown up for breakfast yet. And so, after a little while longer in bed and a very brief shower, Charles quickly got dressed, and he was soon walking down the corridors with Erik towards the large hall where breakfast was being served.

“Mmm, I can’t wait to eat something”, Charles said, squeezing Erik’s hand. “I’m absolutely famished.

Erik smirked. “I can’t say I’m feeling all that hungry myself, considering I’ve already eaten this morning…”

“Erik!” Charles exclaimed, turning to give Erik a disapproving look and being met by one of Erik’s ridiculously wide grins in return- the kind that always had a tendency to turn Charles’ knees to jelly, even if Erik was being especially cheeky at the time.

“What’s the matter, Charles?” Erik asked, raising his eyebrows at Charles in mock innocence. “Don’t you want everyone hearing about what a delicious meal you are?”

“Well, considering we’re in a hotel surrounded by my friends and colleagues, I think not… Just try to contain yourself, you gorgeous, filthy man- at least until we’re able to return to our room later”.

“No promises…” Erik grinned in return, before adding: “Now, tell me- just how long will it be before we actually get some more time alone together?”

Charles flashed Erik a guilty look. “Ah… According to Raven’s schedule not until much later tonight… After this breakfast we’re going to be split up- apparently Raven wants to grill each of us so she can get answers to some questions that she’ll use for some sort of quiz. Then we’ve each got a special lunch with our respective guests, and finally we’ll all meet up again at dinner”.

“Wait”, Erik said, stopping still and grasping Charles gently on the forearm. “So you mean I won’t be able to see you _at all_ until this evening?”

“I’m afraid so...” Charles moved closer, winding his arms around Erik’s waist as he gazed up at him. “You’ll behave yourself in my absence, won’t you darling?”

For a while Erik simply stared down at Charles, leaving Charles to assume he was about to be the recipient of another witty rejoinder. But then, after a moment, Erik’s expression softened into something like fondness, like sweetness, and he leaned closer as he reached to gently cup Charles’ face with one hand.

“Charles… I’d do anything for you”, Erik said softly. “You know that, don’t you?”

Charles smiled back in return. “Me too”.

 

For the rest of the day, though he lamented being apart from Erik, Charles tried his best to enjoy himself and fully engage in all of silly little games and activities that Raven had planned. Okay, so Charles wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to answer a litany of questions about Erik- ranging from guesses as to Erik’s favourite colour (magenta) to his favourite sexual position (basset hound)- but it did amuse Charles considerably to think of Erik holed up somewhere with Azazel and his entourage being subjected to a similar ordeal.

By the time the evening drew in Charles was feeling somewhat exhausted, and consequently eager to be reunited with Erik- preferably in a large, comfortable bed where they would both be wearing very little clothing... But unfortunately, before they were allowed to get to that point, first they were required to be present at a lavish dinner held in their honour- one with far too many courses for Charles’ liking, considering he had already eaten a number of delicious cakes earlier that day in a beleaguered attempt to avoid answering questions by keeping his mouth full.

As soon as Charles saw Erik he immediately ran over and wrapped his arms around him from behind, pressing his face between Erik’s shoulder blades as he squeezed him tight.

“Oh god, I’m so glad to see you…” Charles gasped. “They made me talk about your penis, Erik. It was awful”.

There was a low rumble from Erik’s chest as he let out an amused laugh. “That’s funny, Charles- I don’t seem to remember ‘awful’ being the word you used the last time you saw me naked…”

Charles snorted. “You’re right- I’m pretty sure ‘delectable’ was what I actually said, but I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the harrowing experience of your sister leading some kind of sordid Spanish inquisition where you’re grilled on your sexual preferences, secret kinks, and your future husband’s penis size”.

“Mm, yes… It sounds rather like the experience I just went through, except in my case there were rather more shots of vodka and Russian cheers that I didn’t understand.”

“Lucky you. The only thing I had to help me get through the experience was consuming my body weight in cake frosting”.

From behind Erik there was an sudden laugh- a familiar sound that always had a tendency to sound rather unkind whether it was intended to be or not, and a voice that was more than a little teasing as it said: “You’ve always had a sweet tooth, haven’t you Charles? Though I would have thought you’d be cutting down on treats in the run up to the big day, otherwise how else are you going to fit into your white dress?”

Charles unwound his arms from Erik’s waist and moved to the side, being met by a cool gaze and a sly smile- one that Charles had learned long ago had no real malice in it.

“Emma…” Erik started. “I already told you- Charles isn’t wearing a dress. Neither of us are”.

Emma gave a small shrug. “What a pity- I think Charles would look stunning in some long, slinky number… Nevertheless, I’m sure both you boys will look absolutely gorgeous whatever you wear”. Her smile grew wider, almost luminous in its intensity as she finished: “Congratulations again. I couldn’t be more pleased for you”.

“Thank you, darling”, Charles replied, smiling as he stepped forward to give Emma a brief kiss on the cheek. “I’m so happy you made it”.

“Me too, sugar”, Emma said with a smile.

In some ways, it was strange to consider how differently Charles had felt the last time he’d been in this room with Emma- when he had watched her cosy up to Erik, believing that she was Erik’s girlfriend; someone who stood between Charles and the love of his life. It had all been untrue of course- a misunderstanding- and since then Charles had got to know Emma properly, and they had become friends.

Of course, being friends with Emma hadn’t always been easy… In spite of her cool and composed exterior she often had a penchant for mischief, and that combined with her telepathy had often gotten her (and Erik, and sometimes Charles) into all kinds of trouble. It probably didn’t help that Emma sometimes had a tendency to associate with certain unsavoury characters, people who always seemed to show up at the worst time to complicate Charles’ life, people who Charles certainly didn’t expect to see at his fucking wedding…

“I’m happy to be here too, Chuck…”

As soon as Charles heard the words said in that familiar gruff tone he instinctively edged closer to Erik, linking his arm through Erik’s and instantly taking note of how tense his fiancé had become.

“Logan…” Charles said quietly, eyes widening as the man stepped closer, wondering why on earth he had chosen to make an appearance at the wedding. But when Emma took Logan’s arm and rested her head against his shoulder, flashing Charles and Erik a coy smile that made it very clear she knew just how much trouble she was causing, Charles suddenly realised that Emma had never actually disclosed the name of her plus-one before… Unsurprising, considering Logan was an ex-fling of Charles’, and an enemy of Erik’s.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Erik uttered through gritted teeth.

Though part of Charles wanted to chastise Erik for being so rude, he knew Erik could hardly be blamed for his reaction- not when you took into consideration the kind of problems Logan had caused in Charles’ and Erik’s relationship in the past…

 

****

Following Charles’ decision to agree to move in with Erik things moved at a steady pace, though perhaps not as quickly as Erik would have liked… Charles was only too aware of the fact that purchasing a property took time, and that they wouldn’t be likely to just find somewhere immediately and move in straight away. Nevertheless, Erik was clearly excited about the whole thing, and every day Charles found himself bombarded by pictures of houses and links to available properties, leading Charles to believe that Erik’s position as the CEO of a multimillion-dollar company afforded him much more browsing time than Charles had available as a genetics professor…

In-between teaching classes Charles would sit and look through the information Erik had sent him, smiling happily to himself as he imagined what it would be like to go home to Erik every night, and wake up next to him each morning. But before they could get there Charles knew there were certain things that would need to happen first, like telling Raven their news, for example.

Charles had got himself into trouble before by not being fully open and honest with Raven, and he was determined not to make the same mistake this time. And so, as soon as Charles had word that Raven had returned from her honeymoon, he immediately scheduled a dinner with her so that they could catch up.

It went about as well as Charles expected it to. After first discussing the events of Raven and Azazel’s vacation in Paris, Milan, Adelaide, and Bora Bora (thanks to Azazel’s teleportation abilities)- a conversation in which Charles was relieved to hear that Raven had finally told her husband the news that he was due to be a father- they had finally moved onto the subject of Charles and Erik. Raven had always been a firm supporter of their relationship and consequently was only too eager to hear about what had happened since they’d returned from England, but when the subject of them moving in together had come up it was unmistakable the way her expression changed, and even without reading her mind Charles knew that Raven was harbouring doubts.

The following discussion was one that Charles was still thinking about some hours later, as he let himself into Erik’s apartment and wandered through to where he could sense Erik waiting in the bedroom.

“Hi, darling”, Charles smiled, stepping over towards the bed where Erik was sat reading a book, already dressed for bed in pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt.

“ _Guten Abend_ , beautiful…” Erik replied softly, tilting his head up for a kiss that Charles wilfully gave, though one that ended up being rather more amorous than Charles had intended… As soon as he was in touching distance Erik quickly pulled Charles down on top of himself, so that Charles ended up straddling Erik’s waist with his hands braced against Erik’s chest.

“Mmm…” Erik murmured appreciatively. “I’ve missed you. How did it go with Raven?”

“Um, it was alright. She told me all about her honeymoon and then I told her about us and our plans… It was okay, I think… I know she supports us but she just worries about me sometimes, and she doesn’t want me to get hurt again”.

Instantly Erik’s expression softened, and he reached one hand up to gently hold Charles’ face.

“Liebling… That’s not going to happen. I’d never do anything to hurt you. I don’t want to mess this up again”.

“I know… I know that. And I’m sure deep down Raven knows that too, but it’s kind of in her nature to look out for me, even though we’re not blood relatives. It’s the same as how I will always worry about her- that’s just what siblings do”.

“I suppose. But still- I’d like to do whatever I can to reassure her. Perhaps we could all go out to dinner sometime? Me, you, Raven, and Azazel. That way we can all talk and Raven can see just how serious about you I am”.

Charles couldn’t help but smile. “Darling, that sounds like a wonderful idea…” he said softly, leaning forward to place a sincere kiss to Erik’s lips. “I’ll have to see if I can find some time in my schedule”.

With that Charles extracted himself from Erik’s embrace, placing his keys and phone on the bedside table before wandering over to the bathroom and slipping inside as his began his night-time routine. Even though they weren’t yet living together, Charles already had amassed a collection of belongings at Erik’s apartment- something Erik had actively encouraged- and so he felt completely at home as he showered, dressed in his pyjamas, and brushed his teeth, before heading back into the bedroom where he knew Erik would be waiting.

Well, at least Charles thought Erik would be waiting… Most nights Charles returned to the bedroom to find Erik lounging in bed, ready to pull Charles under the covers and snuggle him and kiss him- an embrace that had always been so endearing considering how aloof and uncompromising Erik’s outward persona usually was. This time, however, Erik was already lying down in bed with his back to Charles- shoulders hunched and bedsheets pulled almost all the way up to his face. If it was a warning sign, Charles didn’t see it until it was too late.

After sliding beneath the covers Charles instantly began to edge closer to Erik, wrapping his arm around Erik’s waist and pressing his face into the back of Erik’s neck, but within an instant Erik grasped Charles’ arm and shoved it away, huffing out a sullen: “Don’t”.

“Erik?” Charles said, sitting up slightly in bed and trying to get a look at Erik’s face which was still turned into the pillow. “Darling, what’s wrong?”

“Like you don’t know…” Erik muttered. “I should have guessed from the way you were so determined to take things slow. If you weren’t happy you should have told me- I never would have pushed you into anything you weren’t ready for, or stood in your way if you wanted to take a break”.

There was a feeling like an undercurrent of alarm in the air; an unnerving atmosphere that served as a complete contradiction to the way Charles usually felt in Erik’s presence, and he felt rather foolish for not having noticed it until now. But it hadn’t been there when Charles had come home earlier, he at least knew that, which meant that something must have changed more recently during the time in which Charles was in the bathroom.

Charles sat up in bed and looked frantically around the room for any kind of explanation, initially being met by nothing of interest until he noticed his phone on the bedside table. When Charles went into the bathroom he was sure he had placed it face down, but now it was turned upwards with a small blue light blinking ominously in the corner of the screen, and when Charles reached for it and unlocked the device he finally found an explanation for Erik’s stormy demeanour.

There, filling up the screen, was a penis. Although Charles had never previously witnessed it ‘in the flesh’ so to speak it was a cock he’d definitely seen before- sent to him during drunken text exchanges, back during the run up to Raven’s wedding before Charles had reunited with Erik. Even if Charles hadn’t recognised it from the size and shape, the metal claws protruding from the knuckles of the hand holding the member made it all to clear who was responsible for sending the image.

“Oh god…” Charles murmured.

Erik let out an unimpressed sound. “You said something similar the first time you saw mine….” he muttered. “I should have known I wasn’t really special”.

“Erik, no…” Charles blurted out, head snapping up to regard Erik and finding that he was still curled up defensively on one side. “Erik, this isn’t what you think. I didn’t ask for this. I don’t know why on earth Logan sent this to me”.

“Yeah, right…” Erik huffed. “So Logan just decided to send you a dick pic for no reason, completely out of the blue. That makes sense”.

“Erik, I’m telling you the truth. I haven’t even spoken to Logan since the wedding- honestly”.

Charles edged closer, tentatively placing one hand on Erik’s shoulder in an attempt to get him to turn over, but finding himself swiftly denied as Erik merely shrugged out of his grasp.

“Why don’t you believe me…?” Charles murmured quietly, feeling hopelessly bereft in the wake of Erik’s obstinance. It wasn’t fair. They were supposed to be building a life together- they were supposed to _trust_ each other. Why was Erik so unwilling to listen? And, come to think of it, why had he been looking at Charles’ phone in the first place?

Charles let out a low sigh. “I would never lie to you, Erik, and I wouldn’t keep anything from you either, but I’m starting to think that this transparency doesn’t extend both ways. Perhaps instead of justifying myself I should be asking why you felt the need to go snooping through my phone in the first place”.

At last Erik turned over, but as soon as he did Charles began to wish he’d just kept his mouth shut…                                               

Erik was furious. Charles could see it in his eyes- that even though Erik was deeply hurt beneath it all there was a kind of simmering rage; an expression that Charles had seen before, but that he’d never thought would have ever been directed at himself… Erik remained reclined on his back for a while, staring coldly at Charles, and when he began to speak every word was uttered harshly and slowly, almost like Erik was grinding his teeth as he spoke.

“I wasn’t ‘snooping’, Charles- I was looking at your calendar to try and find a suitable date to arrange this dinner with Raven and Azazel. I know how busy you are so I wanted to organise it myself to surprise you. The fact that a cock shot popped up on the screen was little more than bad timing, or perhaps a good thing considering now I finally know where we stand…”

With every word uttered Charles felt his heart starting to ache more and more. His hands trembled with the urge to pull Erik close, to apologise to him, to press kisses to every millimetre of his skin, to do _anything_ at all to make that wounded look on Erik’s face go away- the one that made Charles feel unworthy of ever having seen the vulnerable soul beneath Erik’s tough exterior. Worse still was the energy Charles could feel coming from Erik’s mind- all things sharp and splintered, like fragments of crystallised pain slicing into Charles’ heart.

“Erik, I’m sorry…” Charles whispered, voice hoarse with emotion. He could feel tears beginning to form in his eyes accompanied by a tightening in his throat, and knew he was seconds away from the kind of uncontrolled outburst he usually tried to avoid around Erik. But before the walls could come tumbling down the fire in Erik’s eyes went out, and he let out a long resigned sigh as he dropped his gaze.

“We all make mistakes…” Erik said softly, staring down at his own hands which Charles now saw were shaking. “I suppose it’s only what I deserve”.

Charles let out a helpless whimper- wanting to tell Erik no, wanting to tell him that he hadn’t strayed and never would. But Charles knew that the second he opened his mouth it would be like releasing the floodgates, that it would prompt a swell of emotion that would surely only make Erik think of him as weak and pathetic- as Charles’ mother always had when he’d acted similarly as a child. And so, instead Charles could do little more than watch as Erik nodded resignedly to himself, and withdrew from the bed.

It took everything Charles had to hold in his emotions until Erik left the bedroom and closed the door behind himself, until Charles could feel the light of Erik’s mind growing darker as he walked away. Only then did Charles allow himself to turn his face into the pillow, inhaling the scent of Erik and only wanting him more desperately now that he’d felt like he’d lost him for good, and thinking only of him until the moment exhaustion took over and Charles fell asleep.

 

The next morning Charles’ alarm was set to wake him up early for work, but he awoke even before his phone began to emit the unwelcome sound. Normally Charles was the furthest thing from a morning person- content to continually press snooze until Erik roused him with a cup of tea- but on this occasion Charles was out of bed before the sun had even fully risen, drawn by his telepathy to a presence that gave him very real hope.

Previously, during any time when Charles and Erik had argued, it had always followed the same pattern. They would disagree- Erik would get angry, Charles would withdraw- and then eventually Erik would leave and take a few days to cool off, until the point when he was ready to talk to Charles again. Even though they were in Erik’s apartment Charles had assumed that Erik would have left last night, most likely going out to a bar before retiring to a hotel, but as Charles wandered down the hallway he was relieved to realise that clearly something between them had changed.

Low morning light filtered in through the curtains as Charles entered the living room, his heart soaring at the sight of Erik asleep on the sofa, lying on his back with a blanket pulled up to his waist. Erik looked so sweet and so vulnerable that Charles wanted nothing more than to crawl on top of him, perhaps bury his face in Erik’s neck and beg Erik to hold him- to make him feel safe and secure again- but fear made him pause. What if Erik was still angry? What if Erik still thought that Charles had cheated? Or, worse still, what if Erik had decided that he didn’t want to be with Charles anymore, and he was simply waiting for Charles to wake up and get out? Charles knew that a year ago he would have done just that- he would have gotten changed and gathered his belongings and walked away without saying anything, allowing Erik to make the sole decision as to whether they were going to be together or not. But this was supposed to be a fresh start- for both of them- and Charles recognised that if that was the case then he needed to change too.

It only took Charles a few seconds to cross the living room and take a seat on the sofa, not going so far as to actually lie down with Erik like he wanted, instead perching on the edge as he reached over and gently shook Erik by the shoulder. Within an instant Erik was awake and Charles was initially warmed to recognise the look of affection in Erik’s eyes, before Erik clearly remembered what had happened last night and his expression turned steely.

“Charles…” Erik murmured, his voice blurry with sleep. “What--"

“I’m sorry”, Charles blurted out, hating the way he could already feel himself tremoring with emotion. “I’m sorry I accused you of snooping through my phone, but I swear to you I haven’t seen Logan since Raven’s wedding; I haven’t even spoken to him. You’re all I want, Erik, and I mean that. You’re everything to me, and it breaks my heart to know that you think I’d be capable of cheating on you. I would never do that to you, Erik- not ever”.

Charles paused, tears welling up and lower lip trembling as he finished: “ _Please_ , Erik- you have to believe me”.

It was startling how quickly Erik reacted, how it only took a fraction of a second for him to wrap his arms around Charles and pull him closer, pressing kisses to Charles’ cheek as he murmured: “Don’t cry, Liebling, please don’t cry… I’m sorry too… I know you wouldn’t cheat on me, I know you’re not capable of that…”

“You believe me?” Charles whimpered, grasping onto the front of Erik’s t-shirt desperately.

Erik nodded. “I believe you. I never really thought you cheated but when I saw that picture I was so angry and so scared that you had found someone better--"

“There’s no one better”, Charles interrupted, pressing his face into Erik’s neck. “I only want you, Erik. _I love you_ …”

The noise that Erik made in response sounded suspiciously like a sob. “I love you too, Liebling… I’m so sorry”. Erik reached one hand up to grasp Charles’ face, turning his head for a kiss, but before their mouths could meet Charles pulled away, prompting a questioning look from Erik.

“What a second- I just need to get something”, Charles said, before he abruptly stood up and began to walk hastily back towards the bedroom.

When Charles returned Erik was still lying back on the sofa, looking sleep rumpled and unguarded, and watching patiently as Charles sat beside him once more.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while…” Charles said, placing his closed hand on Erik’s leg and slowly beginning to open it, revealing a thin circlet of metal upon his palm inscribed with both his and Erik’s initials. The bracelet was something Erik had made for Charles back when they were first dating, given to him as a gift on his birthday, and though Charles had kept it with him every day since he and Erik were reunited they had never discussed it until now.

“I want to wear it again”, Charles continued. “I’m yours, and I want to be reminded of that fact every time I see this bracelet on my wrist. Can you put it on for me? Please, Erik?”

Charles looked up to meet Erik’s eyes, realising how moved Erik was both from the expression on his face and from the blissful energy coming from his mind. Without hesitation Erik gently took hold of Charles’ hand as he used his powers to manipulate the metal bracelet, creating an opening in the band so it could be slid onto Charles’ wrist, and reforming the circlet seamlessly afterwards.

As soon as the bracelet was back in place Charles shifted closer to Erik, lying down on top of him like he’d been desperate to do all morning, and humming contentedly as Erik pulled the blankets up to cover them both. Finally, back in Erik’s arms, Charles felt safe once more, and he knew that- no matter what obstacles there may be to come in the future- as long as he and Erik could continue to communicate with each other then surely they could get through anything.

 

****

 

But, in spite of Charles’ hopes, communication was the furthest thing from Erik’s mind by the time they were sitting together at dinner, across the room from where Logan and Emma were seated. Since the night of the unwarranted dick pic Charles hadn’t planned to really speak to Logan, other than to politely request that he refrain from sending such pictures in the future, but then Logan and Emma had embarked upon a lengthy on/off relationship for the next three years and Charles had found that seeing him was sometimes unavoidable. Erik had never liked it very much- his issues with Logan went much further than jealousy over his involvement with Charles- but for the most part he had been content to just avoid Logan as much as he could. Now though, that was impossible- Logan would be at the hotel for the rest of the wedding event, meaning that the sour look on Erik’s face was likely to continue perpetually.

After dinner was over Charles declined suggestions of hitting the bar for a few drinks, and instead followed Erik dutifully back to their hotel room. Erik was sullen and quiet on the short journey, and as soon as they were back inside their room Charles immediately reached for his hand, turning Erik around so that he could hold Erik’s face and gaze into his eyes.

“Darling… Are you okay?” Charles asked, reaching up to gently stroke his hands through Erik’s soft hair.

Erik shrugged. “I’m fine…” he muttered, entirely unconvincingly.

“Erik…” Charles chided, leaning up to press a brief kiss to Erik’s lower lip. “I know you don’t like Logan, but everything’s going to be okay”.

“I’m not so sure”, Erik replied. “I’ve already seen him looking at you, smiling at you. You know he’s going to try to flirt with you, both to fuck with me and because, well, he’d be crazy not to want you. And I’m supposed to just sit by and let it happen because it’s our wedding and we can’t possibly make a scene otherwise Raven will murder us…”

Charles shook his head. “Erik, sweetheart, if Logan really becomes that much of a problem we can ask him to leave, but I honestly don’t think he’ll do anything. And even if he’s stupid enough to try something, does it really matter? I’m marrying you. Nothing is going to change that”.

“You have a history…” Erik grumbled, avoiding Charles’ eyes.

Charles sighed, knowing that Erik wasn’t really expressing any doubts about Charles’ fidelity, but more that he was just feeling incredibly vulnerable, and if that was the case then Charles was prepared to do whatever was necessary to make him feel better.

“Erik…” Charles began slowly, trying to make his voice as low and seductive as possible as he trailed his hands down Erik’s chest. “What do I have to do to prove that I worship you? That I love you? I’ll get on my knees if that helps prove my devotion…”

It was almost too easy to remove the sullen expression from Erik’s face- one nudge of Charles’ knee against Erik’s crotch and he was looking into Charles’ eyes once more, mouth parting and eyes growing dark with lust.

“If you think that would help…” Erik replied softly, hands snaking around Charles’ waist and sliding down to cup Charles’ arse, squeezing once.

With a small, slightly victorious smile Charles dropped to his knees, trailing the palms of his hands slowly down Erik’s thighs and humming happily as he noticed the front of Erik’s trousers already beginning to fill out nicely. Charles tilted his gaze up to watch Erik’s face as he leaned forward, pressing his face against the sizeable bulge of Erik’s crotch and rubbing back and forth, causing Erik to curse and grasp Charles’ hair with both hands.

“You’re such a filthy, irredeemable little slut, aren’t you Charles? But you’re my filthy, irredeemable little slut…” Erik murmured, his voice low with arousal.

The button and zipper of Erik’s trousers slid open, courtesy of Erik’s powers, and then Charles was pulling Erik’s trousers down and pressing his face against the thick length concealed by Erik’s underwear, mouthing at the head of Erik’s cock as he replied: “Yes, Erik- I’m yours…”

“Good boy…” Erik whispered in response, smiling as Charles hooked his fingers through Erik’s underwear and pulled them down. Erik’s cock was now fully hard and slick at the tip, and Charles gave Erik one last filthy grin before he placed a kiss to the head of Erik’s cock, and opened his mouth to take it in.

It was perhaps fortunate that the easiest way to calm Erik down also happened to be one of Charles’ favourite things to do, and he knew that, if daily blowjobs were required to keep Erik in check, then he was happy to keep doing what he loved for the man he loved. Erik was slightly needier than usual on this occasion, insisting that he mark Charles with his come to prove his ownership, and lovingly cleaning Charles off afterward before dragging him into bed, but as Charles lay there snuggled up against Erik, Erik’s hands gently trailing through his hair, Charles knew he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Are you sure I can’t use my powers to turn Logan’s claws into a rather extravagant set of cutlery?” Erik asked.

Charles laughed, turning his face further into Erik’s chest. “Maybe tomorrow”, he replied.


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

In Charles’ ordinary life he was accustomed to waking up early- his job as a genetics professor frequently required him to teach many morning classes, and as such he was used to crawling out of bed at an ungodly hour, blearily downing at least two cups of tea to ready himself for the day ahead. Erik, in contrast, had always been an early riser by choice, and most days he got up before Charles did so that he could engage in a morning run, before showering and often crawling back into bed just in time to try and prevent Charles from leaving by pulling him into an embrace…

On this occasion however, Charles was surprised to awake to find Erik still there in the bed with him. Technically they were both on holiday, in a manner of speaking, and it could be expected that Erik would perhaps relax and enjoy a lie-in from time to time, but they had been at the hotel for five days now and this was the first morning when Charles had awoken to find that Erik hadn’t abandoned him in favour of exercise. Charles couldn’t help but smile at the sight and crawl further up Erik’s body, leaning against Erik’s chest as he gazed down at his future husband’s face adoringly. It was only a few moments before Erik began to wake up, and when his eyes blearily cracked open Charles couldn’t help but grin wider.

“Hi…” Charles laughed, giddy at the sight of Erik looking so sweet and sleep-rumpled; something he very rarely saw. “You’re still here”.

“Why wouldn’t I be here?” Erik mumbled, his voice rough with sleep. “I live here”.

“Um, Erik…” Charles started, gesturing at the room around them. Erik followed Charles’ motions, seeming to take a few minutes to realise that they were in a hotel rather than being at home, something that confirmed to Charles that maybe Erik was still feeling the effects of his drinking session the previous night.

“Right… Hotel… Wedding…” Erik murmured, dropping his head back against the pillow and squeezing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

“Aww, was Azazel a bit too rough with you last night?” Charles teased, dipping his head to press a brief kiss to Erik’s cheek. “Suddenly I’m very grateful that I went to bed early instead of staying up drinking”.

“Mm, it was probably for the best… Azazel tends to get awfully competitive when it comes to alcohol, and you know I’m not one to just say no to a challenge”.

“Yes, I’m aware of that”, Charles grinned. “I’d imagine this is why you’re still in bed with me rather than jogging already? I definitely have no complaints about that though- it’s nice to wake up before you for once. You look so peaceful…”

“Do I? Cause I feel like I’ve just been hit by a truck”.

Charles chuckled, rolling himself on top of Erik fully and leaning down to press a series of kisses to the side of Erik’s face, prompting Erik to let out a groan as he reached down to hold Charles’ waist.

“Ugh, Charles- be gentle, Liebling. I’m very fragile right now”.

“Poor baby…” Charles murmured, nuzzling his face into Erik’s neck. “You know, I rather enjoy seeing you like this- all vulnerable and defenceless… Completely at my mercy… However it would be cruel of me to allow you to suffer, particularly with what challenges we have ahead of us today. Would you like me to help you, darling?”

Erik nodded. “Yes please…”

After taking one more moment to gaze at Erik’s gorgeous albeit rather pained face Charles carefully pressed his fingers to Erik’s temple, closing his eyes as he used his telepathy to slowly encroach upon Erik’s mind. It didn’t take long to locate the pain receptors inside of Erik’s brain and to carefully diminish the effects caused by his excessive drinking, until the point where Erik let out a sigh of relief and Charles could visibly see the tension leave his face.

“You’ll still need to drink plenty of water to rehydrate yourself”, Charles said, removing his fingers from Erik’s temple. “But that should hold you off until your body recovers”.

Erik smiled gratefully. “ _Danke_ , Liebling- that’s perfect; just what I needed. Besides, I think I’m going to require all the help I can get to cope with today”.

“It won’t be that bad…”

Erik gave Charles a pointed look. “Charles, my mother hates flying, and yet she is taking a ten hour flight to be here for the wedding… Of course, I know that her having to fly at all is entirely her fault for not being willing to let Azazel teleport her, but still- you know how many times she’s berated me for choosing to get married in England rather than America? One of two things is going to happen when she gets here- she’s either going to be unbelievably grouchy, or unbelievably overenthusiastic about everything. Maybe both. Are you sure you’re ready to handle that?”

Charles smiled. “Erik, I’ve been handling your mother for years now- spending just over a week in a hotel with her should be easy by comparison”.

“You really think so? Honestly, Charles- if you think your sister has been an overbearing influence on this wedding, what do you imagine my mother is going to be like?”

For a long moment Charles considered the question, contemplating all of the previous occasions he had spent with Erik’s mother in the past. Edie Lehnsherr was an undeniably lovely person- someone warm and kind and considerate- but someone who tended to be incredibly protective of Erik, and consequently had a great many opinions about what was best for him…

“Oh god, we’re doomed!” Charles exclaimed, pressing his face into Erik’s chest in an attempt to hide. “She’s going to hate the food and the venue and our outfits. She’s going to refuse to let you marry me- I can feel it”.

Erik laughed softly, gently cradling the back of Charles’ head as he pressed a brief kiss to his cheek. “Relax, Liebling- mama loves you. She’d let you marry me regardless of what she thought of the wedding- in fact, she’s been desperate to bring you into the family ever since she first met you. I’m sure it’ll be fine, I just might have to work on some kind of deep breathing exercises in order to cope with whatever attempts she makes to embarrass me…”

“Mm, me too…” Charles replied, knowing that, were anything to go awry at the wedding, it wouldn’t be the first time he had risked embarrassing himself in front of his future mother-in-law…

 

****

 

After Charles had reunited with Erik, there were a number of milestones that they had transversed with relative ease. They had recoupled (in all manners of speaking), they had declared their love, and they had even decided that they wanted to purchase a home together, but the one thing they hadn’t done was tell Erik’s mother. It was mostly Charles’ fault- even though he believed in the sincerity of his relationship with Erik he still harboured fears about things going wrong, and therefore he didn’t want Erik’s mother to be left disappointed if it didn’t work out, particularly as Charles knew how happy she would be to hear that they had reunited. And so, even though Erik mentioned the idea of Charles and his mother meeting on an almost daily basis, Charles always put it off for another day.

When the day actually came, it was an accidental meeting to say the least. It was a Saturday and Erik’s birthday, and Charles had been thrilled about the idea of celebrating the occasion- especially as he had never really done so before. When Charles and Erik first dated Erik had neglected to mention when his actual birthday was, meaning that Charles had only found out after it had already happened. When Charles had questioned him Erik had said that he didn’t consider his birthday as worth celebrating- something that Charles disagreed with emphatically- and consequently he was determined that _this_ birthday would be one to remember.

Charles knew that Erik would be spending the morning in Connecticut having breakfast with his mother, before returning in the evening to attend a special dinner that Charles had arranged. Of course, what Erik didn’t realise was that the ‘special dinner’ was somewhat of a ruse, and Charles actually had another kind of celebration in mind… There would be food, of course- ordered in from Erik’s favourite restaurant- but prior to that there would be an appetiser of an entirely different sort.

On the evening of Erik’s birthday Charles let himself into Erik’s apartment, carrying a bag full of supplies with him as he made his way towards the bedroom. Charles stopped in the kitchen initially, stashing some champagne and some fresh strawberries and cream in the fridge for later, before heading into the bedroom to get ready… It was perhaps a bit hackneyed, but Charles felt like Erik might appreciate the romantic element of the rose petals he scattered all over the bed, as well as the candles he dotted around the room. But what Charles was sure Erik would enjoy most of all was the gift Charles was making of himself by stripping off, lubing up, and spreading himself enticingly over Erik’s bed.

Charles was only too aware that Erik enjoyed letting out his dominant side, and so he made sure to lay an assortment of instruments across the bed for him to use as he saw fit- ranging from a large leather paddle to a metal vibrator that Erik had constructed himself on a previous occasion. It wasn’t long before Erik was due to return home, and so Charles spent some time debating how best to arrange himself on the bed, before eventually settling face down on the mattress so that his best asset was on show. The idea was to lie there until Erik returned and greet him with some sort of sultry “Happy Birthday”, but Erik was taking a bit longer than Charles expected and it wasn’t long before the comfort of Erik’s bed meant that Charles was trying to resist the urge to fall asleep.

In spite of Charles’ best efforts evidently he must have drifted off at some point, because the next thing he knew he could hear the low sound of Erik’s voice coming from somewhere nearby. Unfortunately Charles’ accidental nap had done a real number with his senses, as he felt completely groggy and disorientated as he tried clumsily to form himself into some sort of seductive position, also trying to wipe away the drool that had amassed on the pillow beneath his face… Of course, by the time Charles realised that Erik wasn’t alone it was almost too late.

Just outside Charles heard Erik saying: “I think I left it here in the bedroom” before the door started to open and Charles had just enough sense to frantically grasp hold of the edge of the duvet, bringing it (and the array of toys) with him as he rolled over to the side and toppled unceremoniously off the bed, crashing to the floor in an ungainly heap. There was a harsh intake of breath from Erik and then the door slammed shut, and Charles was beyond relieved to hear the muffled sound of Erik saying: “You know what, I haven’t even offered you a cup of tea yet- how rude of me. Why don’t you come with me and--” before the sound of Erik’s voice faded until Charles couldn’t hear it anymore.

Lying on the floor, dazed from sleep and sore from his fall, Charles didn’t know what to do. In some ways it seemed like the safest thing for Charles to do would be to remain lying there wrapped up in the duvet until he was sure that Erik had gotten rid of his guest. Of course, when Charles blearily reached out with his telepathy and realised it was _Erik’s mother_ who was in the apartment with him, he realised that he and Erik were unlikely to be alone anytime soon.

It didn’t make sense though. In all the time Charles had known Erik he knew that Edie had rarely visited New York, as apparently she’d never been a fan of the city and she was even less fond of travelling, meaning that any time Erik had seen her he’d always gone to her house. Charles just couldn’t understand why Erik’s mother would have finally decided to visit Erik’s home now, other than maybe it was because the universe was trying to punish him in some way…

Charles was still debating the most recent unfortunate turn of events when he heard the door open, and he instantly burrowed further into the duvet as he listened to someone walk across the room towards the bed. He knew it was Erik so it wasn’t that Charles feared being discovered by Erik’s mother, rather that he was embarrassed about the situation he’d placed himself in, and fearful that Erik might laugh at him. After a moment though there was a hand gently squeezing Charles’ shoulder through the blanket, accompanied by a surge of warmth and concern coming from Erik’s mind.

“Charles… Are you alright?” Erik asked softly.

“I’m an idiot…” Charles mumbled in response, his voice muffled by the duvet. “I wanted to surprise you for your birthday so I got naked and prepped myself and I was waiting here for you to come home, but then I fell asleep and I didn’t hear when you came in and I panicked when I realised your mother was here and I rolled off the bed, and now my head hurts and I think I’ve bruised my arse on one of your vibrators when I fell”.

Erik’s hand trailed down the duvet until it reached the bottom and slid underneath, palm smoothing up Charles’ leg and making Charles yelp in surprise.

“Sssshh, Liebling- relax”, Erik whispered. “I’m just checking that your beautiful ass hasn’t been too badly injured by your fall”. With that he flipped the blanket up, before drawing his hand slowly over both of Charles’ buttocks, gently squeezing each of them in turn in a form of inspection, causing Charles to wince slightly as Erik’s thumb pressed against the tender skin from where Charles landed awkwardly earlier.

“Sorry, baby…” Erik murmured, leaning over to press a kiss to Charles’ injured butt cheek. He reached beneath Charles to grasp the offending vibrator Charles had fallen on, before collecting the other toys scattered across the floor and depositing them in the drawer of the bedside table, and then turning his attention back to the parts of Charles he could access once more.

“Are you going to come out, Charles?” Erik asked, sliding one hand in-between Charles’ thighs and trailing it upwards, causing Charles to moan in an almost Pavlovian-like response to Erik’s touch. “Because as much as I’d like for you to stay here- naked and lubed and spread across my floor with me doing all kinds of unmentionable things to you- my mother is out in the living room drinking tea, and I can only delay her for so long”.

“Why is she here?” Charles asked quietly.

Erik let out a low sigh. “Charles, I’m afraid I have a bit of a confession to make… Mama is here because I invited her to come to dinner with us tonight”.

Instantly Charles rolled away from Erik’s hand, drawing his legs up under himself as he started to sit up, still remaining wrapped up in the duvet but with his head now poking out the top, and his eyes focused questioningly on Erik…

“Erik, I thought we agreed that we weren’t going to tell your mother about us yet…”

“Well, it wasn’t so much an agreement as me doing whatever was necessary to keep you happy, and whilst I would like nothing more than to do exactly that I don’t want our relationship to be a secret- from anyone, and particularly not from my mother”.

“What, so you thought you’d just bring her to dinner and announce it then?”

“Not exactly…” Erik replied, before flashing Charles a guilty look and adding: “Charles… Mama already knows about us…”

Charles couldn’t help but defensively bundle himself up further in the duvet, edging away as Erik only moved closer, grasping Charles’ shoulders with both hands and squeezing gently.

“Charles, I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to intentionally go against your wishes, but mama could tell that something was different ever since I came back from the wedding. She kept saying how much happier I seemed, and obviously she knew I’d seen you there so I think she guessed or maybe just hoped that something had happened between us, and I couldn’t lie to her anymore. _Mein Gott_ , Charles- even just keeping it from her as long as I did resulted in me getting an almighty smack around the back of the head. Can you imagine what she would have done to me if I’d have waited even longer?”

Erik sighed, moving closer and sliding his hands to cup Charles’ face, rubbing his thumbs gently against the soft skin below Charles’ ears as he finished: “Please don’t be mad at me, Liebling…”

Instantly Charles knew that he wasn’t mad at Erik, not really. Even though Charles had been hesitant to let Erik tell his mother about their renewed relationship, he knew that Erik was right- that it was foolish to keep things a secret for so long. Charles only hoped that he wouldn’t also be receiving a smack around the head for not being more honest…

Charles would have reached for Erik to reassure him, but he was still wrapped up like a human burrito and so instead he leaned forward and kissed Erik, the embrace sweet and intimate and most likely hinting at what was in store for later than evening, but only after they first dealt with Erik’s mother of course.

“I have a confession too, Erik”, Charles said when they parted. “I never actually made a reservation for us tonight- instead I was just going to order in, after the sex of course… I don’t know if we’ll be able to get a table anywhere on such short notice”.

Erik shrugged. “Not to worry- mama’s much more interested in seeing you than eating in a fancy restaurant. Why don’t you get dressed and join us in the living room, and we can order something like you planned?”

“But will your mother be okay with that? I know how much she values home cooking…” Charles said, remembering the lavish dinners he’d attended at Erik’s mother’s house and how she’d always insisted that Charles should learn to cook too.

Erik leaned over and pressed a brief kiss to Charles’ forehead. “Like I said, Charles- she’s here to see you. Now, why don’t you get cleaned up and dressed and come join us?” Erik paused for a moment, smirking, before he added: “By the way- I very much appreciate your efforts tonight… Mama is staying over this evening, but just as soon as I return from taking her home tomorrow I expect to find you here waiting for me- naked, lubed, and just as perfect as you are now”.

Charles flushed but managed a coy nod, secretly pleased to know that Erik appreciated his gift- even if he hadn’t been able to fully enjoy it- and giddy to consider what might happen when he and Erik had some time alone together the next night. But in the meantime Charles would have to put those kinds of thoughts aside, and prepare himself for seeing Erik’s mother again for the first time in over a year.

 

There was a certain underlying current of nerves running through Charles as he later stood in the bathroom, smoothing down his clothes after having hastily cleaned and dressed himself. It wasn’t that Charles didn’t want to see Erik’s mother- he had always loved her, more than he’d ever loved his own mother- and perhaps that was the problem. The end of Charles’ relationship had hurt not just because he’d lost Erik, but because he’d also been forced to cut contact with Erik’s mother- someone he cared for immensely- and Charles knew that was probably why he’d been so reluctant to see her again, as he couldn’t bear the pain of potentially losing her once more.

But there was no going back now, and so Charles could do little more than take a deep breath as he wandered down the hallway towards the living room, drawn towards the sound of amiable chatter in a mixture of German, Yiddish and English. As soon as Charles entered the room the talking stopped, and then Edie was hurrying over to Charles and grasping hold of his face and wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tight, and Charles could do little more than hug her back and try not to succumb to the swell of emotion that threatened to consume him as he saw the look of pure joy on Erik’s face.

 

****

 

Every time Charles had seen Erik’s mother since, the initial meeting had always been very similar in nature to that day. Edie Lehnsherr was a warm and open woman- never afraid to kiss or hug her son in public, much to Erik’s perpetual annoyance- and her affection extended equally to Charles, even if Charles had not married into the family just yet. But now Charles was little more than a week away from becoming a fully-fledged Lehnsherr, and he could only hope his future mother-in-law would continue to think of him so fondly once she arrived at the wedding venue…

Like Erik had said, Edie had made no secret of the fact that she’d wanted Erik to get married in America- most likely in Connecticut somewhere near where she lived and where Erik had grown up for some of his life. But thanks to Raven’s influence as the wedding planner the venue had ended up being England, and as Charles sat in the bar with Azazel, steadying his nerves with his second large drink of the evening, he tried to remain hopeful that Erik’s mother would have warmed to the setting once she’d arrived in the country. Of course, it didn’t help that the weather outside was piss poor; a perpetual wet drizzle that drenched anyone who ventured outside within an instant. Raven had planned for there to be a barbeque and fireworks in the hotel grounds on this particular evening, but the festivities had been rained off and everyone had been relegated to remaining inside.

“Another”, Azazel said, sliding another glass of whiskey across the bar in Charles’ direction, prompting Charles to frown and shake his head.

“No, I can’t- I’ve had too much already”.

Azazel made a distinctly unimpressed sound in the back of his throat as he looked at Charles, before he used his long red tail to push the glass further in Charles’ direction.

“Drink, _brat_. Is happy occasion, _da_?”

“Hmm, I’m not so sure about that… My future mother- in-law is on her way here, and I’m worried that she’s going to hate the venue”.

“So if she does, we give her drink too”, Azazel replied seamlessly, prompting Charles to smile a little in spite of himself.

“A flawless plan, my friend…” Charles grinned, taking the drink he was offered and knocking it back- something that seemed like a good idea at the time until Charles slammed the glass back down on the counter and the room began to spin, most likely as a result of Charles’ decision to drink on an empty stomach.

For a fleeting moment Charles considered whether he’d have time to go back up to his room for a quick nap to sober up before Erik returned from the airport, but then someone squeezed Charles’ shoulder and Charles barely had time to turn around before he was drawn into an almighty hug which pulled him from the stool he’d been sitting on.

“Oh! Mrs Lehnsherr-- I mean, Edie. I’m so glad you made it okay”.

“Pah, I did- no thanks to the American flight system…” Edie replied, leaning back but continuing to hold Charles firmly on the shoulders. “Did you know I had to be at the airport _four hours_ before they would even let me on the plane? All these checks and scans, _Mein Gott,_ they made me feel like I was a criminal! And they confiscated my tin of peaches. And the can opener! So I had nothing to eat on the plane and I had to make do with some measly little sandwich that, _Gott im Himmel_ , wouldn’t even have fed a mouse… Honestly, Charles- it’s been a nightmare, but it’s okay because I’m here now, with my two beautiful boys, and I couldn’t be happier”.

Edie turned around, seizing Erik by the arm and manoeuvring him with surprising force for such a small woman, until he was stood side-by-side with Charles and she was able to reach up and grab each of their faces with her hands.

“Look at the two of you! Such a lovely couple”, Edie trilled, squeezing both Charles’ and Erik’s cheeks with such vigour that Charles was sure it would leave a mark. Charles was just preparing himself for the idea of having to ask Emma if he could borrow some makeup to cover his soon-to-be bruised face, but then Edie quickly let go of Charles’ face and refocused her attention solely on Erik.

“Oh Erik, I’m so proud of you, _Schatz_. I always hoped you’d find someone special and now you have. Not that it’s been so easy for you to get here, of course… There were times I worried that you’d never settle down, what with the flings and the breakups, and that girl with the mysterious rash and that boy who turned out to be a priest…”

“Mama…” Erik started warningly.

“…You know, there was a time when I thought you’d never find anyone at all- you were always so busy with work and your little metal habit, and no one wants a husband who’s more interested in tinkering in his workshop rather than being in bed with them, that’s for sure. It’s important, Erik, you know- _relations_. You have to make time for each other. You have to understand each other’s wants and needs and desires…”

“Oh god, please stop…” Erik begged, looking distinctly queasy. Charles reached over and squeezed Erik’s hand supportively, but the other witness to Erik’s humiliation was rather less sympathetic…

The cackle of laughter Azazel gave out seemed inappropriately loud in the quiet room, causing Charles, Erik, and Edie to all turn to look at him- finding the red-skinned mutant watching the scene with an expression of abject amusement on his face. Within an instant though Azazel seemed to temper himself, and he gave a slight bow before he reached over to grasp Edie’s hand, shaking it firmly.

“It is nice to meet you, Mrs Lehnsherr. I am Azazel”.

“Oh, Azazel!” Edie replied, smiling politely. “Yes, dear- I’ve heard about you. You’ve worked for my son for years, haven’t you? And you’re married to Charles’ sister?”

“That is correct. We have one boy- Kurt”.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! You know, I hope that Charles and Erik follow suit and provide me with a grandchild before long, preferably whilst I’m still alive to meet them… I know Erik will make a wonderful father. Did you know that when Erik was a boy he used to collect dolls? He used to put them all in cribs and pretend to feed them and care for them. He was such a sweet boy…”

Charles had never seen Azazel display as much emotion as he did in that moment- the grin forming on his face wide and uncontrolled.

“I did not know this…” Azazel replied. “Perhaps, Mrs Lehnsherr, we should drink and you should tell me more about this younger Erik”.

“Oh, please dear- call me Edie. And yes, a drink would be lovely. I’ll have a sherry”.

Azazel signalled for the drinks, and within a short while they were holding up their glasses and clinking them together as Azazel cheered: “Nostrovia!” before they each downed their respective beverages. As Azazel motioned for a second round Charles turned back towards Erik, fighting hard to keep from laughing as he caught sight of the look on Erik’s face.

“This is hell…” Erik murmured, eyes still locked hopelessly on the sight of his mother drinking with Azazel. “You were right, Charles- this was all a terrible idea and everything’s going to go horribly wrong and we should just elope now and get married on a secluded island where no one at all knows us”.

Charles smiled, stepping closer and winding his arms around Erik’s waist as he gazed up at him, waiting for the moment when Erik inevitably responded and looked down to meet Charles’ eyes. When Erik finally did so Charles immediately leaned up to steal a quick kiss, using his telepathy to gently filter into Erik’s senses as he reassured him that everything was going to be fine.

“That’s easy for you to say…” Erik said in response, mumbling against Charles’ mouth. “You don’t have to worry about your mother embarrassing you in front of all your guests”. Immediately Erik leaned away from Charles, reaching both hands to grasp his shoulders as he added: “Shit, Liebling- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean--"

Charles shook his head. “It’s fine. For the record I would pick your mother over mine any day of the week, even if she is a bit overbearing at times”.

Erik smiled at Charles fondly, before looking past him to regard the sight of his mother seemingly completely wrapped up in her conversation with Azazel.

“You’re right…” Erik said eventually. “She’s pretty special, isn’t she?”

Charles smiled back in return. “She is… Just like her son”.


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

Charles had always known that weddings never had a tendency to run smoothly, and that it would almost be expected for there to be little setbacks and pitfalls to overcome. With that in mind, when it came to his own wedding Charles felt like he was prepared to deal with everything from a collapsing wedding cake to sentinels descending on the venue and shooting everyone with laser beams, but to his immense relief so far each day had passed relatively smoothly. Yes, there were a couple of moments when Charles had worried about bickering guests and questionable menu choices (and one incident when Charles had needed to whisper some _very dirty_ things in Erik’s ear to distract him from wanting to turn Logan into an impressive metal paperweight) but overall everything so far had been fine.

“This is going almost too well…” Charles murmured quietly.

Erik turned to look at Charles, giving his hand a quick squeeze as they walked side by side. “I wouldn’t exactly say that, Charles…” he replied. “We’ve only found one statue so far”.

They were currently engaged in one of Raven’s planned activities- a game where they had to wander around the hotel grounds locating various statues, the clues to the locations of which came in the form of lyrics from love songs. It was perhaps a little hackneyed and silly, but Raven had insisted that these kinds of games were just an essential part of the pre-wedding celebrations, and Charles had always known that he would be required to participate. To Charles’ surprise Erik had agreed too, but only after he’d insisted that he be paired with Charles and no one else. Charles soon found out the reason for Erik’s insistence, when they’d found the first one and Erik had immediately made Charles do some ridiculous pose so that he could take a picture. Charles’ protests that they were only meant to take photos of the sign next to each statue fell on deaf ears as Erik had laughed to himself and snapped a quick shot of Charles with his leg draped over the sculpture’s upturned arms.

“I’m going to print this out and put it on my desk at work…” Erik said, chuckling to himself as he looked at the photo on his phone.

Charles whacked Erik on the arm. “You better not! If there are going to be any pictures printed out from this event I’d like to think they will be of the two of us looking ravishing in our tuxes, not of me pretending to be wooed by some marble Casanova”.

“You look so cute though…” Erik grinned. “Anyway- what were you saying? What do you think is going well?”

“This whole event. I keep waiting for something to go wrong but nothing has”.

“I wouldn’t go that far, Charles- do you not remember us trying to escort mama to her room last night after she’d had one too many sherries? No one should have to listen to their mother giving ‘wedding night’ advice. No one…”

Charles laughed, amused by both the memory and the look on Erik’s face now. “No, I suppose not- but on the scale of foreseeable disasters I don’t think that ranks too highly, does it darling?” Charles stopped, winding his arms around Erik’s waist and gazing up at him lovingly as he continued: “Let’s face it, Erik- after everything we’ve been through together I don’t think there’s much we couldn’t overcome”.

As Charles said the words he knew he really meant it- that he was confident there wasn’t a single thing he or Erik couldn’t get through together. Of course, what Charles hadn’t foreseen was that it wasn’t just potential problems between himself and Erik that might cause an issue, and that some problems were so big they risked derailing the whole wedding entirely…

 

For the next half an hour Charles spent his time leisurely wandering through the hotel grounds, hand-in-hand with Erik as they followed clues and found statues and, in Erik’s case, threatened to make a complete mockery of the whole activity by not taking things seriously... Apparently, to Erik, it was much more important to kiss Charles amongst the mulberry bushes than it was to locate and photograph the sculptures, and though Charles knew Raven would be irritated were she to walk by and happen upon Charles where he was pressed up against a tree with Erik kissing his neck, when Erik’s lips were on him Charles found it hard to care.

“You’re terrible…” Charles murmured, groaning quietly as Erik’s teeth grazed tantalisingly over his pulse point and the list of clues slipped from Charles’ grasp and drifted to the floor. There was an amused chuckle from Erik, the warmth of his breath against Charles’ neck causing him to squirm, and then he moved closer to press his body firmly against Charles’ own, making his imposing erection only too obvious.

“You love that I’m terrible…” Erik whispered back in response, beginning to rock his hips forward. “You love how filthy I am… the things I say and do to you… I’m sure that you already know that I’m thinking about you dropping to your knees and blowing me right here and now, and you love that too…”

Charles shivered. “Erik, _we can’t_ …”

“Yes we can… No one will see us, Charles- you can make sure of that. Now, why don’t you get on your knees like the good boy I know you are?”

“But… But I might get grass stains on my trousers”.

Immediately Erik started to laugh, his body shaking with raucous amusement where it was pressed against Charles’ own. He leaned back to look at Charles, sliding both hands to hold Charles’ face and smiling down at him warmly.

“Liebling, you are just too cute”, Erik smirked. “I should have known you’d be more concerned about ruining your clothing than about anyone seeing your slutty behaviour”.

“Well, these trousers were very expensive, you know…”

“Fucking adorable…” Erik grinned, reaching around to give Charles’ lush arse a firm squeeze. “Alright then, how about we finish this ridiculous quiz and head back to our hotel room, so I can strip you off and ruin you in the way that you deserve?”

It sounded like a perfect suggestion, as Charles could think of nothing finer than an afternoon spent in bed with Erik, pinned underneath him and shuddering under the influence of Erik’s hands and mouth. But just as Charles was about to express his agreement he felt something- a sound akin to a siren going off in his head, something shrill and alarming that he hadn’t heard in years.

Charles’ face must have paled considerably quickly, as instantly Erik’s expression shifted into one of concern.

“Charles? What’s wrong?”

Charles could only get out one word in response.

“Raven”.

 

It didn’t take long to get to Raven, thanks to both Charles’ telepathy and Erik’s ability to use magnetic fields to propel himself through the air, and with each second that passed Charles hoped that he was wrong, that the discord within his mind was nothing more than a false alarm. However, as soon as Charles saw Raven he knew that his hopes were futile.

Raven was pacing back and forth in the hotel lobby, emitting panicked sounds as she talked into the phone she was gripping tightly in one hand. All around her guests and hotel staff were hurrying around the place, and even though everyone looked determined at the same time it seemed like no one had any real clue what they were doing, and that they had all just decided that appearing busy was likely the best way to cope with whatever calamity they were facing. As Charles drew nearer Raven finished up her conversation with a hissed: “Just fucking hurry!” and then in the next second she noticed Charles and she immediately threw herself into his arms.

“Raven…” Charles said softly, stroking one hand through her coarse orange hair as she leaned heavily and sobbed against his shoulder. “What is it, love?”

“It’s Kurt”, Raven whimpered, the words sending a cold stab of dread splintering through Charles’ heart. “He’s gone”.

“Gone?? What do you mean gone??” Charles asked, alarm evident in his face as he shot Erik a worried look, and found that Erik was wearing an equally disturbed expression in return.

“I don’t know what happened!” Raven wailed. “We were in my hotel room, watching through the window as you all ran around playing that silly statue game I organised. Kurt was getting fussy so I went into the next room to get some juice from the minibar, and when I came back he was gone!”

“How can that be possible?” Erik asked, his voice controlled and measured, betraying very little of the horror Charles could feel coming from his mind.

Instantly Raven whirled to face Erik. “Well if I knew that Kurt wouldn’t be fucking missing, would he?” she hissed.

“Raven…” Charles said gently, squeezing her upper arm. Immediately Raven’s icy expression faltered, and then fresh tears were welling up in her eyes and she was reaching to seize hold of the front of Erik’s shirt, pulling him closer so that she ended up sandwiched between Charles and Erik, her head still on Charles’ shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Erik- I didn’t mean to snap at you”, Raven whimpered. “I’m just so scared. Kurt is everything to me and if I lose him I don’t know what I’m going to do…”

Erik began to rub the palm of one hand against her back in soothing circles. “Don’t worry, Raven- I’m sure we’ll find him. Charles can--"

Charles knew what Erik was going to say, probably before Erik himself did, and he knew it would be pointless to utter- something Erik clearly realised too as he caught sight of Charles’ face and the words died on his lips.

As a telepath Charles had the ability to reach out and locate thousands of minds within the immediate vicinity, and it was clear that Erik hoped that Charles would be able to do the same thing in this case- to use his telepathy to find Kurt and make sure he was safe. The only problem was, the second Charles had heard Kurt was missing that was exactly what he’d tried to do, but to his surprise (and horror) he’d found nothing in return. Charles could feel the minds all around him like tiny lights scattered across a map- wedding guests and hotel staff nearby stretching out to individuals living in the nearest town and beyond- but none of them were Kurt. Worryingly, there was nothing to suggest Kurt was even alive at all.

“He’s gone, isn’t he?” Raven whimpered. “Something’s happened to him. Someone’s taken him”.

Charles squeezed Raven more firmly. “We’ll find him. I’m sure Azazel’s out there already, searching for Kurt, and you know he won’t stop until he’s found”.

“You don’t know that…” Raven mumbled, shaking her head. “If you can’t sense him and Azazel hasn’t found him already by teleporting then there’s no chance, is there? I always knew this would happen… I told you I was right to worry- I knew one day Kurt would pay the price for what I did…”

“Raven, you don’t think…?” Erik started quietly, the rest of the sentence remaining unsaid because he didn’t need to say it, because they never talked about it- not anymore.

Raven huffed out a bitter sound. “It’s because Kurt’s a mutant. I always said that something would happen- I always told Charles that someone would hurt him, that one day they’d hurt us all, and this proves that I was right. Someone has taken my boy, and I swear now when I find them I will kill them with my own bare hands”.

“Raven…” Charles said gently. He wanted to tell her no, he wanted to reassure her that she was wrong- that there was nothing to fear, that there was no one out there who would hurt Kurt just because he was a mutant. But unfortunately Charles knew only too well the types of prejudices many people harboured towards mutants- after all, he had experienced evidence of such things himself in the past…

 

****

 

When Charles and Erik finally settled on a place to live together, it felt like it happened very quickly. For several weeks they had looked at listings and viewed properties, but it seemed impossible to find a home suitable for both their needs. Each of them had certain necessities- like an extensive library for Charles and a home gym for Erik- and though they both had the required funds to afford such a dream dwelling, actually locating one that fit the bill entirely was somewhat of an impossible mission. But then one day Charles and Erik had been lying in bed together on a Saturday morning- Charles reading the morning paper whilst Erik browsed property sites on his phone- and they had seen a listing that had seemed almost too good to be true.

Less than an hour later they were making the short journey from Erik’s apartment to view the property, and as soon as the estate agent opened the door and led them inside Charles knew they had found their future home.

“Oh gosh- it’s perfect…” Charles gasped, letting go of Erik’s hand as he hurried forward through the rooms, not even waiting to be shown around just allowing his enthusiasm to lead him.

The property was a large townhouse- four stories tall and with numerous rooms for Charles and Erik to furnish to their needs, and what made it special compared to all of the other dwellings Charles and Erik had seen in the city was that it had its own private garden. It was everything Charles had been hoping for and he knew that he was supposed to play it cool and not get too excited too soon, but it felt like every room in the place was singing with promise- with hope for the life he and Erik planned to have together. And so, when Charles finally managed to calm himself long enough to stand with Erik in the property’s large kitchen, he couldn’t help but immediately wrap his arms around Erik’s waist and squeeze tight as he gazed up at him.

“I take it you like the place then, Charles?” Erik asked, smiling warmly as he rubbed his thumb against Charles’ jawline.

“Erik, it’s perfect!” Charles gushed. “This kitchen is huge so there’s loads of space for you to cook, and there’s a big enough dining room for when Raven and Azazel and your mother and our friends come over for dinner, and we can furnish it so that we have an office each, and you can have the gym that you wanted and I can have a library and there’s a garden so we can spend summers outside and and--"

“Okay, okay I get it…” Erik said, grinning widely. “It’s perfect”.

“It is!” Charles exclaimed, before suddenly he paused- doubt setting in. “Unless… unless you don’t think so? Because if you don’t like it we can just keep looking until we find--"

Charles’ words were abruptly interrupted by Erik leaning forward to press their mouths together, the kiss taking Charles’ breath away as it always had a tendency to do until the point when Erik stopped, remaining close as he briefly rubbed his nose against Charles’.

“Charles- stop being so selfless, you wonderful man”, Erik murmured. “It’s an amazing house, and if you love it then that’s all I care about”.

“Really?” Charles asked hopefully.

Erik nodded. “Absolutely, Liebling. Whatever you want, if I can I’ll give it to you”.

Charles couldn’t help the extremely pleased smile that immediately spread over his face, one that he found mirrored in Erik’s equally wide grin. Suddenly hundreds of images ran through Charles’ mind of Erik and himself in this house- living together, happy, in love, watching the years go by as they grew older, perhaps surrounded by a menagerie of children. The thoughts were warm and comforting, particularly as Charles wasn’t entirely sure whether they were coming from himself or Erik, but he found that he didn’t mind either way.

“So, what do you think?” the estate agent asked, interrupting Charles and Erik’s happy daydream and causing them to unravel from their embrace.

“It’s perfect”, Charles replied honestly, unable to keep his enthusiasm to himself.

“Excellent! Well, I’m sure the two of you would be very happy here. It’s a nice neighbourhood- very scenic, very few incidents of crime, and lots of amenities in the local area…” The agent paused, using one finger to push her glasses further up her nose as she continued: “I should mention though, a lot of the people living in the adjoining properties are quite old, and as such they might be a bit behind the times when it comes to accepting, um, certain _lifestyles_ …”

Charles pulled a face, knowing instantly what the agent was referring to, having experienced prejudice on account of his sexuality more than once in his lifetime. Unfortunately it was a sad part of life that was almost to be expected, and Charles was prepared to just remain quiet and do his best not to upset his potential new neighbours if that’s what it took. Erik, on the other hand, was rather more forthright.

“Alright, I promise not to suck my boyfriend’s dick out on the veranda”.

“Erik!” Charles exclaimed, whacking him on one arm and trying to stifle a laugh. Fortunately though the agent found Erik’s bluntness equally amusing.

“Best not”, she replied with a laugh. “Honestly, I know it’s not ideal, but you could have worse neighbours. Just last week I was trying to sell a house downtown that was next to a family of mutants, and you can imagine how difficult that must have been- I’ll be lucky if I manage to make any commission at all on that one”.

As soon as Charles heard the words he felt himself tense; an involuntary reaction to the kind of casual discrimination he was unfortunately accustomed to encountering from time to time. For the most part Charles surrounded himself with people of similar minds- fellow mutants or human allies- but occasionally he would meet bigoted individuals and would be reminded of how unaccepting society could sometimes be. Though it always made Charles upset it made Erik _furious_ , and Charles could tell on this occasion by the way Erik immediately tensed- the anger coming off him in waves.

“What’s wrong with living next to mutants?” Erik asked, his voice low and menacing.

The estate agent looked surprised. “Oh, um… well, it’s just that their powers can be somewhat unpredictable, can’t they? And it’s dangerous living next to someone who can walk through walls or read your mind or…” The agent trailed off, clearly realising she had made a grave error as she uncomfortably cleared her throat and added quietly: “Um, you’re not, are you…?”

The look on Erik’s face was deadly. “Yes, I’m a mutant, and Jewish too, in case you’d like to point out any problems with that as well?”

“Oh, no- not at all!” the agent quickly replied, holding up both hands as if in defence. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were… You look so--"

“So _normal_?” Erik interrupted, taking a step forward as Charles hastily reached over to grasp his hand. “Would you prefer that we were marked? Branded? So you knew that you were giving a viewing to a telepath and a metalokinetic?”

“Erik…” Charles urged, squeezing Erik’s hand.

“Listen, I’m sorry”, the agent replied, looking deeply uncomfortable. “I didn’t mean to offend you. If I’d have known… Well, perhaps we can start again, and I can take you to view somewhere else- somewhere better suited to your needs. I’m sure we can find you two a nice place to live”.

Charles sighed, heart sinking as he mentally chastised himself for getting so excited earlier- for allowing himself to daydream about something that now seemed like it wasn’t going to happen after all.

“Okay… That would probably be for the best”, Charles said quietly, but within an instant Erik was tightening his grip on Charles’ hand and pulling him closer.

“We’ll take it”, Erik said.

Charles wasn’t sure who was more shocked- himself or the agent. Charles turned to look at Erik, finding that Erik’s expression was still one of tempered rage but that overriding it all was a determination that displayed his fierce need to protect Charles and to ensure he was happy.

When she found her voice, the estate agent spoke again: “You… want the property?”

Erik nodded. “Yes. We’ll take it for the asking price, but I’ll be ringing your office directly to make the offer so don’t expect any commission on this sale. Perhaps instead you should focus on selling the house next to that nice family of mutants if you want to earn yourself some money…”

At Erik’s words the agent’s mouth clamped shut, the disbelief on her face giving way to annoyance. To her credit she managed to maintain her composure, and later Charles and Erik bid her a somewhat awkward goodbye outside the front door before she turned and walked away.

As soon as they had watched the estate agent drive off down the road, Charles turned and wrapped his arms around Erik in a fierce hug.

“Thank you, darling…” Charles whispered, burying his face in Erik’s neck.

Erik pressed a kiss to Charles’ forehead. “You’re welcome, Liebling. But if you want to thank me properly then you can do so by letting me fuck you in every room of this house just as soon as we move in”.

Charles laughed, squeezing Erik tighter. “Deal”.

 

Naturally, when it came to moving day both Charles and Erik were far too exhausted for any such activities…

It had taken just shy of two months for the offer to be formally accepted and all the paperwork to be signed and transferred over, a period during which Charles felt ready to burst with excitement at the prospect of finally setting up home with Erik. Whilst Charles was waiting he busied himself with packing up his belongings and ordering furniture for the new house, as well as spending time with Raven- someone who was growing increasingly pregnant and increasingly grumpy by the day… Charles could only sympathise with Raven’s discomfort and try to reassure her that it would all be worth it once she had her child in her arms- something Raven clearly already knew by the way she usually punched Charles on the arm in response.

But Charles’ meetings with Raven during that period weren’t all light-hearted and fun. As Raven’s pregnancy had progressed she’d become increasingly concerned about the future welfare of her child, particularly when there had been some unsettling stories in the news about certain mutant issues… Every so often it seemed like the ‘mutant problem’ would become a fevered talking point- on this occasion due to the rising prominence of a certain organisation who seemed overly interested in mutant research; an aim that would have seemed perfectly innocent, were all members of the company not entirely human…

On more than one occasion Charles had listened to Erik and Raven talk about the issue, lamenting the way they both always seemed to get so riled up- like they saw enemies hiding in plain sight everywhere they looked. Charles wanted nothing more than for Raven to just relax during her pregnancy, but it was hard to reason with someone so passionate- particularly when Raven’s concerns could turn out to be perfectly well founded. Still, Charles was determined not to give in to potentially dangerous paranoia, and he continued to try to reassure Raven that this ‘Trask’ individual was unlikely to become a problem.

Thankfully it seemed like Charles was winning the battle, and gradually Raven began to think more about baby names and cot choices, and less about human conspirators. On the day when Charles and Erik moved into their new home Raven was due to have her scan to find out the sex of the baby, and during a break in-between moving boxes Charles received a phone call from Raven with the news, something he immediately ran to tell Erik.

“It’s a boy!” Charles exclaimed, leaping onto Erik’s back and wrapping his arms around Erik’s neck. “Well, at least it is for now, but with shapeshifter genes I suppose the sex of the baby could be entirely inconsequential”.

“Mazel tov”, Erik replied with a smile, his concentration unbroken as he used his powers to put together the centrepiece of the bedroom- a large metal bed he’d constructed from scratch. It was always fascinating to watch Erik work, and after Charles slid down to his feet once more he remained there for a while, leaning against Erik and watching as the final parts of the bed came together so effortlessly.

“All done”, Erik said once he was finished, before he turned around and wrapped both his arms around Charles to pull him closer as he added: “I can’t wait until I get to pin you to this bed and fuck you senseless…”

“Erikkkkkk…” Charles whined, squirming as Erik began to kiss his neck. “Behave- the guys from the moving company are still downstairs”.

“Ah, yes- I suppose we still have a fair bit of unpacking to do... I’ll just have to try and not get too distracted whilst we work by imagining how the metal bedframe will feel against your gorgeous ivory skin, what you’ll look like naked and spread across the silk sheets, the noises that you’ll make as I slip my--"

Stunting Erik’s words with his telepathy was perhaps considered cheating, but it was the only way Charles thought they might be able to make it through the rest of the night. After a mental promise from Erik that he would keep his libido in check Charles released his hold and they began to oversee the transportation of their last few items, until Charles and Erik were left alone to start unpacking their belongings. There was just too much to get through in one night- Charles’ books alone were likely to take several hours to unload and organise- but they made a good start and at least made sure the essential items were put in place.

In the evening, after several hours of unpacking with only a brief break to order a pizza, Charles was considerably knackered and keen to relax at last. After initially wondering whether Erik might make good on his promise to immediately tie Charles to the bed, Charles was left feeling relieved as he followed Erik through the bedroom and into the adjoining bathroom, seeing that Erik had prepared for them a luxurious bubble bath complete with candles around the edge of the tub.

Less than five minutes later Charles was in the bath with Erik, warm and content as he lay with his head resting against Erik’s chest. As a result of the mutual nudity they were both hard but there was no urgency about it, almost like they knew they had all the time in the world to be together, practically the rest of their lives- something that filled Charles with hopeful promise. Erik’s arms were wrapped around Charles’ back making him feel safe and secure, and with each breath Charles gave out he felt Erik breathe in, almost like they were following the same rhythm, like their bodies were as entwined as their hearts and minds were.

“This is perfect…” Charles murmured quietly.

In response Erik pressed a fond kiss to Charles’ forehead, replying simply: “ _Ich liebe dich_ ”.

 

****

 

Everything had been so perfect then- Charles had felt like, as long as he was in Erik’s arms, nothing could ever harm him. Of course, nothing was ever really that simple, and Charles was reminded of that fact as he spent the vast majority of the day dealing with a frantic and inconsolable Raven, particularly as he knew there was nothing he could do to help.

With the assistance of all the wedding guests, the hotel staff, and the police they had searched high and low for Kurt, but there was just no sign of him anywhere. Raven was brokenhearted, Azazel was devastated, and both Charles and Erik were crushed to consider that something terrible might really have happened after all. The disruption the calamity caused to the wedding proceedings was relatively inconsequential- Charles felt like he didn’t care if he ever got married, as long as he knew Kurt was safe and well then that was all that mattered.

That night, Charles went to sleep lying against Erik’s chest, words of reassurance from Erik whispered soothingly in Charles’ ear as he gave in to the despair he felt. All day Charles had kept himself together for the sake of Raven, but now- with no one but Erik to witness his moment of vulnerability- Charles was able to let go at last.

It took a long time for Charles to fall asleep, as if he was unable to switch off because he feared that if he closed his eyes then the day would really be over, and Kurt would definitely be gone. Charles’ mind was constantly whirring; his telepathy continually reaching out hoping to find Kurt there, up until the moment when fatigue took over and he drifted off at last. When he awoke again it was the early hours of the morning- something confirmed by the darkness of the room and the lack of conscious minds that Charles could register- but there was at least one other person awake.

Even though the strength of Charles’ telepathy meant that he rarely made mistakes, he couldn’t help but doubt himself as he swiftly withdrew from bed, registering Erik stirring and mumbling: “Charles, where are you going?” but not even stopping to answer. Outside in the hallway it was almost too bright, the synthetic light hurting Charles’ eyes, but Charles forged on determinedly along the corridor, joined by a considerably more-alert-looking Erik who was still asking Charles for answers that never came. Charles could tell that Erik was getting concerned so he used his telepathy to convey what he’d sensed into Erik’s mind, prompting Erik to immediately grow quiet as he followed Charles faithfully down the corridor.

When they reached the door to Raven and Azazel’s suite Erik used his powers to unlock it before allowing Charles to enter first. The space was composed of two main rooms- a living area which had large double doors leading to the bedroom- and as Charles walked into the living room his eyes were immediately drawn to all of Kurt’s things scattered around the place- toys and books and games- and amongst them all, Kurt himself.

Charles had to choke down a sob at the sight of him. Even though he’d felt Kurt’s mind as soon as he’d woken up Charles hadn’t really allowed himself to believe that they’d enter the room and Kurt would just be there. It didn’t make _sense_. Charles knew that Raven and Azazel were sleeping in the next room and that they would have said something if Kurt had returned, so it suggested that Kurt had- somehow- just reappeared minutes ago.

“Where have you been…?” Charles murmured mostly to himself as he crossed the room and knelt down next to Kurt, running one hand through the blue mutant’s hair. Kurt felt cold to touch, and as Charles looked down at Kurt’s tiny hands he was surprised to see what looked like snow clutched in his pudgy little fingers. But he was fine though, completely and utterly fine, and though questions still surged within Charles’ mind he realised that they could wait until later.

“Come on- let’s get you to your parents”, Charles said quietly as he lifted Kurt into his arms.

The look of relief and utter confusion on Erik’s face was unmistakable as Charles walked past him towards the bedroom, but- like Charles- Erik was clearly just keen to reunite Kurt with his anxious mother and father. Figuring out just what the fuck had happened would surely have to wait until later.

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

 

Reuniting Kurt with his parents was one of the most rewarding experiences of Charles’ life.

As soon as Raven had awoken to find Charles there holding Kurt in his arms, Charles had been almost overwhelmed by the immense feelings of relief and gratitude he could feel coming from her mind. Charles knew that he’d experienced love before- familial love with Raven, romantic love with Erik- but that nothing compared to the kind of love Raven and Azazel had for their child.

There were still so many questions to be answered and phone calls to be made and people to be informed, but for now it seemed important to just let Raven, Azazel, and Kurt be together as a family, and for everyone to get some much needed rest. And so, after a short while Charles and Erik had left them in peace, and had retired to their own room.

Of course, although Charles expected that a morning of questions would await him as soon as he awoke, it seemed like first he would have to answer to his fiancé.

“So what happened?” Erik asked.

Charles looked up from where he was lying on his stomach in bed, watching as Erik slipped beneath the covers and immediately moved closer to Charles, wrapping one arm around Charles’ back as he settled down.

“It doesn’t make sense…” Charles murmured quietly.

“Yes, I know that- but surely you have a better chance of understanding this that anyone else, Charles? Didn’t you read Kurt’s mind to find out where he went?”

Charles nodded. “I did- that’s the part that doesn’t make sense. Kurt wasn’t taken… he teleported”.

“What?” Erik replied, confusion evident on his face. “Are you sure? He’s not even three years old, Charles. I’ve never heard of a mutant’s powers developing that quickly before, have you?”

“Never- that’s why I’m so confused. I mean… I did always wonder if Kurt might develop differently. He’s a second generation mutant, after all- the first I’ve ever come across- so it stands to reason that his powers might manifest early. I just never would have thought anything would happen this soon, but I saw it clearly in Kurt’s mind- he was in the room with Raven, looking at the weather outside and thinking about the trip they took last year to Canada, and the next second he was there- in the very same holiday cabin Azazel took them to last time”.

“That’s where he was? That’s why he was so cold when we found him?”

“Yes. But the thing that scares me is that Kurt can’t control it. His powers must be extraordinary for him to have teleported all that way, but as soon as he was there he was stuck- he didn’t know how to return. I guess he must have wanted it enough and just focused on Raven and Azazel, and somehow he made it back. But what if it happens again, Erik? What if he goes somewhere and he can’t find his way home?”

Erik let out a long breath, seemingly wracking his brain for answers as he rubbed the palm of his hand against Charles’ back in large, comforting circles.

“You need to tell them”, Erik said eventually. “Raven and Azazel need to know what happened”.

“I know, I know… It’s just… Raven is already so worried about Kurt- she’s so fearful that he will get hurt because he’s a mutant, particularly after… _you know_. If I tell her this it’s only going to make her more scared, particularly as there’s nothing she can do to protect Kurt from his own mutation. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to tell her”.

“We’ll tell her together. It will be okay, Charles”.

Charles shrugged, turning to bury his face in the pillow, feeling hopelessly bereft as he considered what could ultimately be a very bleak future for Kurt if he couldn’t learn to control his powers. It wouldn’t be the first time Charles had come across a young mutant who struggled with their gift- in fact, Charles had developed somewhat of a reputation for dedicating his spare time to assisting mutants in need, something his vocation as a genetics professor afforded him opportunity to do as those individuals were often students in his classes. That same need to protect and guide was calling to Charles now, telling him that he needed to do absolutely anything possible to help Kurt, but with his wedding less than a week away Charles knew that he was likely to suffer from a conflict of interests.

Erik moved closer, resting his body over Charles’ as he pressed a kiss to the back of Charles’ neck.

“Just try not to worry, Liebling…” Erik whispered. “I promise everything will work out fine”.

Charles let out an unimpressed noise. “You don’t _know_ that… Kurt could go missing again at any minute, and we should be keeping an eye on him to make sure that doesn’t happen. But how can we, Erik? There’s so much going on, so many guests around... It’s bound to be overwhelming for Kurt, particularly when he’s in such an unfamiliar environment. I can’t help thinking that maybe it would be better if Azazel just took him home, somewhere safe where we can monitor him properly until this situation is under control”.

“What are you saying, Charles…?”

Charles didn’t want to say it, he wasn’t sure he even meant it, but ever since Kurt had gone missing all Charles could think about was keeping him safe, regardless of what sacrifices might be necessary in order to achieve that; sacrifices like the wedding, for example… But how could Charles ask that? How could Charles expect Erik to cancel the wedding just because something _might_ happen to Kurt? Charles felt unbelievably selfish to even consider it, and consequently he found he couldn’t get the words out.

It was clear though that many years of being together had made Erik incredibly attuned to what Charles was thinking and feeling, and consequently it wasn’t long until Erik was gently stroking his hand through Charles’ hair, resting his head against the pillow next to Charles’ as he spoke to him.

“Liebling… If you think Kurt needs to go home then that’s okay, even if that means we all have to go too”.

Charles turned to face Erik.

“Really? You would allow that to happen?”

“Charles… It’s not a matter of me ‘allowing’ anything. This is your wedding as much as mine, and quite frankly I couldn’t care less whether we got married in this lavish venue a week from now or in our own back garden when we return home. All I care about is being married to you, being able to wake up next to you every day and know that you’re my husband. That’s all I want, _mein Geliebter_ ”.

Charles found himself rendered speechless by Erik’s words, overwhelmed to realise just how much Erik was willing to do to make him happy. But perhaps Charles should have already known what Erik’s answer would be. Although when they initially got together Erik had a tendency to be somewhat controlling and occasionally manipulative, it was clear that he had matured considerably- particularly over the year they’d spent apart- and consequently the dynamic between them had shifted. This was never more evident than on the occasions when Erik had demonstrated just how far he was prepared to go for Charles, and what he was willing to do for him…

 

****

 

There was one moment in Charles and Erik’s relationship that proved to be the most significant when it came to demonstrating the depths of Erik’s devotion.

The night in question happened approximately two weeks after Charles and Erik had moved in together, when they’d returned home after one of their ‘date nights’- a meal out followed by a movie that had resulted in mutual tipsiness and a fair amount of groping in the back row of the cinema. Fortunately the two of them had managed to maintain a somewhat suitable level of public decency, until the point when they were safely inside their home once more and Erik had practically dragged Charles to the bedroom- pinning him to the wall in various places along the way as he kissed Charles passionately and yanked his clothing off.

A short while later Charles was in a familiar position- pinned facedown on the bed, his arms bound behind his back and his legs spread apart as Erik thrust into him. It was how Charles liked it best- he loved the freedom attained by submitting to Erik, by giving himself over and allowing Erik to do what he wanted, and trusting that Erik would never hurt him. But as Erik shuddered through his climax, grunting out a litany of German expletives into Charles’ ear as Charles squeezed his legs together to increase the grip on Erik’s cock, for a moment Charles’ mind wandered, and he considered whether this particular kind of intimacy was something Erik had always favoured.

Later, after cuddling and clean-up, Charles redressed and scurried off to the kitchen, returning later with a glass of wine each for himself and Erik to round off the night. After handing Erik his drink Charles had crawled into bed once more, snuggling into Erik’s chest as he took a sip of his wine, and contemplating how to vocalise what he was thinking…

Although Charles and Erik had talked previously about early events in their lives, past relationships, and so on, they had never really gone into extensive detail when it came to their respective sexual histories. For Charles’ part it was because he felt like he didn’t have that much to disclose, not to mention the fact that Erik had a tendency to get jealous when he thought of Charles with other men or women, but with Erik the conversation had never really come up because Charles had almost assumed that he already knew everything. Now though, spurred on by alcohol and curiosity, Charles realised that he wanted to know for sure.

“Erik... Have you ever bottomed before?”

If Erik was surprised by the question he never showed it, though it was true that Erik had often had an ability to appear indifferent no matter the circumstance. In response he merely gazed back at Charles for a long moment, took a controlled sip of his wine, and replied simply: “No”.

“Why not?” Charles asked, apparently unable to give up this line of questioning now he had embarked upon it.

“Well, why do you think, Charles? You may have noticed that I can be rather domineering in the bedroom… There’s not much common ground between slapping someone around the face with your dick and bending over for them”.

Charles laughed. “Yes, I know that. But bottoming doesn’t automatically make you a submissive, and you certainly don’t have to top to be a dominant”.

“No, but it helps”, Erik replied with a grin, earning him a poke in the ribs from Charles. “Alright, in all seriousness I suppose I never felt like I wanted to”, he continued after a while. “I always seemed to naturally attract submissive men and women, so it was easy for me to continue to play this role- particularly as no one ever asked me to switch”.

“That makes sense”, Charles said, taking another gulp of his wine, satisfied with the answer and assuming that would be the end of the discussion. However, to his surprise Erik had something further to add; a comment that made Charles choke rather ungracefully on his mouthful of drink.

“I’d do it for you…”

After Charles had finished spluttering he turned to look at Erik, shocked by the open sincerity he could see in Erik’s eyes.

“You… what?”

“I’d do it for you, Charles- if it was something you wanted. I’d do anything for you…”

Charles couldn’t help but burst into a giddy grin, no doubt spurred on by the alcohol he’d consumed. “You know, there’s that song, isn’t there- ‘I’d do anything for you, but I won’t do that’. I always thought _‘that’_ was anal, but I guess not”.

Erik started to laugh, reaching over to affectionately draw his hand through Charles’ hair. “Charles, you are such a dork… It’s ‘I’d do anything for _love_ ’, actually- and I would, for you, including ‘ _that’_ ”.

“But… why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? Because I love you. Because I want you to be happy”.

Charles shook his head. “But doing it just for me- that’s not what I want. If we were to ever do something like that I’d want it to be because you wanted it too, darling. And if you don’t then that’s fine”.

“But if it’ll make you happy…”

“Erik, no. Honestly, darling- I was mainly just asking out of curiosity. It’s not like I spend each night lying here thinking about it, imagining you laid out beneath me, your legs wrapped around me, your face tensed with pleasure as I rock into you, your gorgeous cock hard against your stomach and aching for my touch…” As Charles spoke he realised that maybe he _had_ been thinking about it, just a little bit, and the way his cock immediately stirred in response suggested that it was definitely something of interest. But what Charles had said still stood- unless Erik _wanted_ this it wasn’t going to happen.

“Sorry…” Charles said, clearing his throat. “My imagination ran away with itself a little bit there”. He finished the remainder of his wine and placed the glass on the bedside table, before snuggling down against Erik’s chest once more and humming happily.

“Forget I said anything”, Charles concluded. “Goodnight, Erik”.

 

Of course, Charles hadn’t realised that what he’d said wouldn’t be something Erik was just going to forget- particularly not after the very vivid picture Charles had painted…

Charles himself had put the conversation from his mind, made easy by the fact that his work week ended up being incredibly demanding and involved more than a few late nights, and by the time Charles was free to really spend a proper evening with Erik it was the weekend once more. Charles had made plans to spend Saturday morning with Raven, and after a lengthy visit to a spa (to try and help Raven relax and forget about the fact that she was growing a person inside of herself) Charles was feeling blissed out and eager to return home to Erik- particularly as he knew Erik was likely to have cooked something delicious for their evening meal.

Dinner wasn’t a disappointment, and Charles found himself feeling considerably impressed by the lavish meal Erik prepared- a three course spread featuring a host of English classics such as prawn cocktail, fish and chips, and jam roly-poly. Charles had marvelled at how there was apparently no cuisine that Erik couldn’t master, and Erik- appearing surprisingly modest for once- had simply smiled and said he was glad Charles enjoyed it.

In truth, Erik was quiet all evening- not an unusual event in itself given that Erik was a man who often chose his words carefully- but it was certainly strange for Erik to be so reserved in their own home. On the periphery of Erik’s mentality Charles could sense a certain nervousness and trepidation, leading Charles to believe that maybe something was going on at Erik’s work that he was worried about. But when Charles realised what was _really_ making Erik so apprehensive, he was shocked to say the least.

They had been in bed at the time, hopelessly intertwined, naked and touching each other as they kissed, and to begin with everything was as it usually was. Erik’s cock was hard and urgent against Charles’ stomach as Charles squirmed on top of Erik, kissing up Erik’s torso and along the side of his neck, emboldened by the way Erik groaned and cursed under his breath. Charles had expected he was in for an evening of fantastic sex- oral, maybe some edging, and a long session of being well and truly fucked- but when Erik paused their embrace to pass Charles the lube Charles was perhaps a little bit disappointed that he’d have to prep himself because he loved when Erik did it. However, no sooner had Charles begun to move away when Erik reached forward to grab his wrist, holding Charles close and explaining: “No, Charles- that’s for me”.

“Huh?” Charles replied cluelessly, not understanding in the least.

“The lube is for me, Charles. I want you to prep me. I want you to fuck me”.

Charles was dumbfounded. “But… But I thought you weren’t interested in that?”

“Well, since you mentioned it I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it…” Erik replied, cupping Charles’ face with one hand and gently brushing his thumb against Charles’ jaw. “What you described has been running through my mind all week- I’m sure you would have picked up on it had you not been so busy with work”.

“Really? But…are you sure about this?” Charles asked. “I don’t want to hurt you…”

Erik smiled, pulling Charles in for a kiss. “Liebling, stop being so sweet and fuck me…” he murmured against Charles’ lips.

With Erik’s explicit permission Charles didn’t need any further encouragement, but although he was unbelievably excited about what Erik had offered he wanted to do this properly, take it slowly, make it _special_ for Erik. It was clear that, in spite of Erik’s apparent confidence and certainty, underneath the outward bluster he was undeniably nervous. Charles could feel the energy coming from Erik’s mind as they began to kiss once more- the buzz of trepidation and hesitation that came as a result of Erik offering something so precious; something that Charles had never expected to receive. In all the time Charles had known Erik the power dynamic of their sex life had been very consistent- Erik was the boss in both the boardroom and the bedroom, and he liked nothing more than to take charge of Charles and their activities, something that Charles enjoyed immensely. Now though, Erik was relinquishing the power he normally possessed- giving it to Charles, giving _himself_ to Charles, and Charles was both honoured and touched by the offering.

As Erik remained lying back on the bed, Charles began to kiss slowly down the length of Erik’s torso- drawing his tongue leisurely over Erik’s skin and revelling in all the little murmurs and moans that came from Erik’s lips. The noises of enjoyment increased considerably as Charles pressed kisses to Erik’s stomach, perhaps being a little teasing by deliberately avoiding the length of Erik’s hard cock- even if Erik endeavoured to draw Charles’ attention by tilting to one side so his member brushed against Charles’ cheek…

“Patience, love…” Charles said with a grin, nuzzling into the soft skin of Erik’s inner thigh as Erik let out a delicious whimpering sound. In truth, though Erik may have liked to take control in the bedroom, Charles had always been able to reduce him to a quivering mess with nothing more than his hands and mouth alone- something he planned to do this time, with one noticeable difference.

As Charles continued to kiss and nibble at the sensitive skin of Erik’s groin he reached to grab a pillow, before encouraging Erik to lift his hips so that it could be slid underneath. Erik complied easily, but as soon as he was laid back once more the look of apprehension in his eyes became undeniable- something that prompted a surge of protectiveness within Charles’ heart and made him want to do little more than pull Erik close and cover him with kisses. But Erik had his pride- Charles knew this- and he also knew that, if Erik had said he wanted to do this, it was important to see it through.

To Charles, distraction seemed like the best way to proceed, and so he once more turned his attention back towards Erik’s decidedly impressive lower half. After flashing Erik a sly and hopefully somewhat sultry smile, Charles dipped his head and parted his lips, taking each of Erik’s balls in his mouth in turn and earning himself a litany of filthy-voiced encouragement in response. As Charles began to gently suck he reached over to pick up the bottle of lubricant- popping the top off and carefully squeezing some onto his fingers- before starting to move them into position.

“Charles… Charles, my cock… I want your mouth… _Bitte,_ Liebling…”

Pleading was a good start, and it gave Charles the prompting necessary to move his attentions further up, pressing soft kisses to the length of Erik’s shaft as Erik groaned and writhed, clearly aching for increased stimulation. When Charles reached the top of Erik’s cock he remained there, mouthing at the head and listening to the groans and curses coming from Erik’s mouth, hoping that Erik would be having such a good time that he wouldn’t be too disconcerted by the feeling of Charles’ fingertip tracing his entrance in slow circles. But perhaps Charles should have realised that Erik wasn’t one to miss a trick.

“If you’re trying to distract me it’s not working…” Erik said with a smirk, absently stroking one hand through Charles’ hair. “I know you’re incredibly skilled, Charles, but that doesn’t mean you can-- _oh GOD_ ”

It was perhaps a little cheating of Charles to suddenly take the full length of Erik’s cock in his mouth at the same time as he slipped his first finger inside, but it was worth it have Erik groaning and cursing under his breath, his hands flexing in Charles’ hair as Charles swallowed to stimulate Erik’s member. Charles continued to suck generously on Erik’s cock as he began to work Erik open, taking his time, ensuring that he didn’t hurt Erik, that Erik felt _so good_. As soon as Charles located Erik’s prostate he began to rub his fingertips against it, prompting a further litany of expletives from Erik as he began to rock into Charles’ mouth, almost like he was stuck between the twin pleasures of both his cock and his prostate being stimulated and he didn’t know which he wanted more.

“Charles… Charles…” Erik was trembling beautifully, the sheets beneath his body becoming damp with sweat, the energy coming from his mind rich and intense. “ _Lieber Gott_ , Charles- you’re amazing, you’re amazing…”

Charles could tell that, if he continued with what had become a decidedly filthy blowjob, it wouldn’t be long before Erik came- which wasn’t the intention of the act. And so, with some reluctance, Charles removed his mouth from Erik’s cock and carefully withdrew his fingers, before moving into position knelt in-between Erik’s legs, gazing down at him in adoration. Charles had never seen Erik quite like this before- face flushed, eyes dark with lust, huge cock achingly hard and leaking drops of pre-come onto his stomach. It was a dizzying sight, and for a while Charles found it hard to say or do anything at all.

“Charles, you’re in danger of becoming a tease…” Erik murmured, making Charles realise that he hadn’t moved in a while and that he was still leaning over Erik, staring at him in complete infatuation.

Charles smiled. “Coming from you, that’s hilarious. It’s not like you’ve ever teased me, tortured me, made me hard and desperate so I’d beg for your cock…”

“Well, you’re a better man than me, so get on with it- yes?” Erik replied, sitting upright and reaching down to give Charles’ arse a quick smack. It was clear that Erik found it impossible not to wield at least some form of control, so it wasn’t long until he was grasping hold of the lube and smearing it onto Charles’ cock in a hasty attempt to move things along.

It was impossible for Charles to keep a fond smile off his face as he leaned over and kissed Erik, at the same time lining his member up with Erik’s hole, ready to push inside. Even though Erik seemed ready for it Charles still felt the need to pause, stroking both hands through Erik’s hair as he gazed down at him and whispered: “Are you sure, darling?” Charles leaned down to press his face into Erik’s neck, holding Erik reverently as he continued: “We don’t have to do this, but I just want to love every part of you…”

As Erik wrapped both his arms around Charles’ shoulders he exhaled a soft sigh that portrayed everything- the depth of his feelings, his devotion, his trust in Charles- and with it came the words: “Yes, Liebling- I’m sure. I want it to be you. _Please_ …”

Charles smiled. “Alright then, sweetheart. I love you”.

Leaning back so that he could keep his eyes focused faithfully on Erik’s face, Charles began to guide his cock inside. The intrusion was clearly uncomfortable for Erik- Charles remembered his own first time and knew that some pain was unavoidable- but he made sure to move slowly and carefully, easing Erik into the experience, and knew that if they could just push past the initial discomfort it would begin to feel incredible.

For the rest of the encounter Charles remained close to Erik, hearts and minds entwined as Charles rocked into Erik in deep thrusts, as Charles basked in the feeling of Erik’s body beneath his own, as Charles revelled in the _sounds_ coming from Erik’s lips. It was spectacular to be able to watch Erik unravel like this, to see him grasp his own cock helplessly, squeezing the thick length as Charles fucked him, almost like he wanted to come and like he wanted to stop it from happening too soon. Erik needn’t have worried about lasting though- the sensation of sliding inside Erik, of topping for the first time in almost a year soon had Charles shaking and moaning, dipping his head to gasp into Erik’s neck as the sensations took him over.

“Erik, I’m… I’m…”

Erik reached down to grasp Charles’ lush arse with one hand, keeping the other wrapped round his own cock as he began to stroke and turned to whisper in Charles’ ear: “Go on. Come for me, baby”.

The words were all Charles needed, and in the next second he felt ecstasy course through his body as he came, the twin pleasure of Erik’s own orgasm winding around his mind like silken thread. It wasn’t just the sensation that made Charles’ climax so intense, it was the knowledge that Erik had given this to him- that Erik trusted him enough to be so vulnerable. It meant _everything_ , and in that moment Charles realised, perhaps with complete certainty for the first time, that he and Erik really were made for each other, and that they could have any future together that they wanted.

 

****

 

That night had seemed very much like, not necessarily the start of something, but the solidification of it. Charles had always known how much he cared for Erik, and how much Erik adored him in return, but until that point he hadn’t quite realised just how far Erik was willing to go to make him happy. The way Erik had given himself over had told Charles that this was not some one-sided relationship where Erik just took and Charles only gave, if that’s what it ever was, but that they were true equals.

Since that night there had been more than few occasions when Charles and Erik had repeated the experience. It wasn’t something Erik frequently ordered from the menu, but occasionally he or Charles would be in the mood and it would happen, and Charles definitely never tired of how Erik looked when he was being topped, or the way he always came moaning Charles’ name like a mantra.

The next morning in the hotel, it was a menu choice. Erik lay sprawled face down on the bed, moaning in a distinctly un-Erik way as Charles thrust into him, as Charles held onto Erik’s hips and used his telepathy to bring the two of them together, to join their minds and bodies in ecstasy. After Charles had finished climaxing he lay down fully on top of Erik, burying his face in Erik’s neck and murmuring words of adoration, feeling the strong beat of Erik’s heart against his chest, and allowing the familiar rhythm to comfort and soothe him as he considered what was about to happen next.

Telling Raven the truth about what had happened to Kurt was not something that Charles was looking forward to, but he knew he needed to be open and honest with his sister- just like he knew he needed to support her during whatever decision she made next. And so, Charles later stood hand-in-hand with Erik as he told Raven and Azazel about Kurt’s new powers of teleportation.

Their reaction was distinctly mixed. Whilst Charles could definitely see a certain awe and pride on Azazel’s face, he could also clearly see that Raven was troubled by the news- unsurprising, considering the fears she’d always held about Kurt’s safety. After revealing Kurt’s mutation Charles had offered up the same thing he’d discussed with Erik- he’d suggested to Raven that maybe they should just postpone the wedding, in order to ensure that Kurt could be effectively cared for at home. Raven’s reaction was not what Charles had been expecting.

“Ow!” Charles exclaimed, rubbing his arm where Raven had just hit him. “What was that for?”

“That was for being so selfless and offering to postpone your wedding, you big idiot!” Raven replied, fixing Charles with a haughty glare. “Don’t you realise that’s the last thing I would want? Yes, I’m concerned about Kurt. Yes, I think we need to do something to make sure that he’s safe- but you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your big day for that. And given how much work I’ve put into planning this wedding, there’s no way I’m letting you do it”.

“But Raven--“

“But nothing”. Raven glared at Charles for a long moment with her arms folded, and then her expression softened and she moved closer to Charles, squeezing him on the upper arms with both hands.

“Charles… You’re my big brother and I adore you- you and Erik both- and there’s nothing I want more than to watch you two get married. I won’t let you give up your wedding day for me, not when you’ve already done so much to help me in the past. So please- tell me that everything’s going to go ahead as scheduled?”

Looking into Raven’s fierce yellow eyes it was easy to see the determination there, the certainty, and beneath it all- the devotion. Even if Charles still had some concerns it was clear that Raven’s mind was made up, and Charles knew better than to disagree.

Charles smiled. “Well then… I guess I’m getting married”.


	7. Chapter 7

 

 

After so many pitfalls and setbacks, the closer Charles got to the day of his wedding the more nervous he began to feel about what other problems might arise. Yes, they had dealt with resurfacing exes and bickering family members and overbearing wedding planners, but Charles still felt like there was so much that could go wrong. Even after they had addressed the issue of Kurt’s newly apparent teleportation skills- thanks to Erik’s brilliant suggestion that they put a tracker in the boy’s clothing so that, even if he were to disappear, Azazel would be able to easily locate and go after him- Charles still found himself feeling distinctly uneasy. However, it would be fair to say that it wasn’t just the issue with Kurt that was weighing on Charles’ mind…

“Are you sure I have to go?” Charles asked, fiddling with his tie as he stood in front of a full-length mirror in his hotel room. “Perhaps I should cancel? I mean, what possible benefit am I going to get out of this anyway? I’m likely to make an utter tit of myself and embarrass the both of us and then that will be it- the wedding will have to be cancelled and we’ll have to break up and I’ll never be allowed to see you again, and I’ll just have to live out the rest of my life as a sad old man surrounded by dozens of cats and dogs and maybe even a parrot that I could teach to talk to me so that I wouldn’t be so lonely and--"

Abruptly Charles’ words were cut off by the feeling of Erik’s arms wrapping around his body from behind, making Charles feel warm and safe and secure- almost as if Erik knew that was exactly what Charles needed.

“Sssshhh, relax Liebling”, Erik whispered, pressing a sincere kiss to the side of Charles’ face. “Everything will be fine. It’s just lunch”.

Charles let out an exasperated breath. “It’s not just lunch!” he pouted. “It’s afternoon tea with your mother- someone who has the power to stop this wedding in its tracks if she decides that she doesn’t want you to marry me anymore”.

“And why would mama do that? She _loves_ you- just like I do”.

Charles raised his eyebrows at Erik in the mirror, prompting a soft laugh and a very wide grin from Erik.

“Alright- maybe not _exactly_ like I do…” Erik grinned, nudging his crotch against Charles’ arse to demonstrate his point. “But she definitely loves you, and you know that. So why are you so nervous about this?”

Charles shrugged, letting out a soft sigh. “I don’t know… I suppose I’m just afraid that she’s going to realise that she doesn’t want me as her son-in-law, and that I’m not good enough for you…”

“Charles, no sane person has ever thought that you weren’t good enough…”

The immediate reactive feeling that ran through Charles was sharp and caustic, causing his eyes to grow large and sad as he gazed at Erik in the mirror.

“My mother never did…”

It clearly wasn’t the kind of response that Erik was expecting, and for good reason. Charles had never really favoured talking about his mother or any part of his childhood, feeling like what he had with Erik offered a kind of idyllic escape from the pain of his past- one that might be diminished by dredging up previous events. As such, Charles had only brought up his relationship with his mother on a handful of occasions, and though Erik had always been thoughtful and sympathetic, it had never been a topic Charles wanted to linger on. It was painful for Charles to reveal his vulnerabilities, even to someone he was so close to, and in many ways it seemed safer to just keep everything inside- even if Charles could sense that wasn’t necessarily what Erik wanted.

After simply staring at Charles for a long, thoughtful moment, Erik used his hold on Charles to turn him round, enabling him to use both hands to hold Charles’ face so that he could look into Charles’ eyes.

“Charles…” Erik began gently. “Like I said- no sane person... If your mother didn’t appreciate you then she was clearly a complete idiot, because you are the most amazing, kind, considerate, beautiful, intelligent, and wonderful man I have ever met. I know this. Mama knows this, and there is no way she’s going to offer up any objections to us getting married. And besides- even if anyone were to try and stop our wedding- do you think I’d let them? This is it, Liebling- you and me forever. It’s what I want. Isn’t it what you want too?”

Charles gazed up at Erik, his heart full of feeling in response to Erik’s sincere words, his mind reassured by the knowledge that Erik meant everything he was saying- that he’d never been more sure of anything in his life.

“Yes, Erik… I want this. I want you- if you’ll have me”.

Erik smiled, before leaning close to press a brief kiss to Charles’ lips.

“Charles, I’m never letting you go…” Erik murmured. “Now- let’s get you ready for your afternoon tea, shall we?”

At that, Erik took a step back and reached up to grasp Charles’ tie, sorting out the unruly mess Charles had made of what should have been a simple task, and forming the tie into proper order once more.

“There”, Erik said, smiling at his efforts. “ _Perfekt_. Do you want me to escort you to the dining room?”

Charles shook his head. “No, thank you darling. I can manage”.

 

A short while later, Charles was walking down the hotel corridor towards the small hall where the afternoon tea would be taking place. The whole thing had been Raven’s idea, of course- another one of the many wedding activities she’d organised- but when Charles had first heard about the lunch he’d been told it was to be a group event. It was only earlier in the morning when Charles had learnt of the change in plan- that Edie had apparently requested to have a private meeting with just Charles, and the news had made Charles feel incredibly nervous.

It wasn’t that Charles didn’t want to spend time with Edie- he had always adored Erik’s mother, in spite of and perhaps _because of_ her many eccentricities- it was just that, like he’d explained to Erik, Charles was nervous about Edie potentially objecting to their upcoming nuptials. It was relatively unlikely to occur- Charles knew he had a very positive relationship with his future mother-in-law after all- but at the same time Charles couldn’t quite control his many concerns.

There was a certain irrational fear running through Charles that, sometime during the lunch, he might do something or say something stupid to embarrass himself and ruin everything. It may have been somewhat paranoid, but that again- if such a thing were to happen it wouldn’t be the first time Charles had found himself feeling flustered in front of his future mother-in-law…

 

****

 

Since reuniting with Erik, Charles had actually only spent time with Erik’s mother on a handful of occasions. The reason for the sparse number of meetings was due entirely to the fact that Edie lived more than an hour away and she had never been a big fan of venturing into the city, meaning that the only occasions when Charles had seen her had been when he had accompanied Erik on brief visits- most often spending a day with Edie on the farm before returning home. Edie had frequently offered to have the two of them stay over for longer, but what with their busy schedules it had never really been much of an option. Now though, for the first time since their recoupling, Charles was due to spend several days at Edie’s house- something he was looking forward to immensely.

During the early years of his childhood Charles had never really enjoyed a comforting family life. The time Charles had spent with his father had been very short-lived, and though Charles had met Raven some years after his father’s death and she had helped to make Charles considerably happier, he’d always lamented the lack of an actual family dynamic. It was something that Charles had never expected to have, especially not after years of his mother’s cold indifference right up until the day she died, but with Erik and Edie Charles finally felt like he belonged at last. It was a contentment Charles experienced every time Edie called to speak to Erik- when she’d refuse to get off the phone until she’d spoken to Charles as well, making Charles feel like almost as much a part of the family as Erik was. The feeling had never been more palpable than on the day when Edie had called to invite both Erik and Charles to stay for Hanukkah- an occasion that Charles had never celebrated before, but one that he was eager to partake in nonetheless.

“Are you sure I didn’t need to bring anything?” Charles asked, looking over at Erik from the passenger seat of the car. “It seems awfully rude just to show up and expect to be fed… I wish you’d have let me bring more than just a bunch of flowers”.

“You didn’t even need to do that”, Erik replied, shooting Charles a pointed look. “Honestly- mama is just happy that you and I are coming, and I guarantee you she’s going to have more than enough food already without us contributing anything. You heard her on the phone- she just wants to see us, that’s all. Now, are you sure you’re ready for this?”

Charles shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve stayed at your mother’s house before”.

“Yes, but that was only for a couple of nights. This is a whole week- that’s a long time… I wouldn’t be offended if you wanted to come up with an excuse to leave early”.

“Nuh-uh. We’re committed to this, and it would be terribly rude to back out now”.

Erik shrugged, smiling slightly as he looked ahead through the front window. “Alright… Well I guess we’ll see if you’re still saying that in several days’ time when you’re just _begging_ me to touch you…”

“Why would I be begging you to touch me…” Charles started, before another thought occurred to him and he turned to face Erik as he continued: “Hang on, why _wouldn’t_ you be touching me??”

Erik was positively grinning now. “Well, Charles- I’m not going to have sex with you in my mother’s house. Surely you must have realised that?”

“But… But…” Charles babbled. “Well, yes- I suppose _penetrative_ sex might be a little uncouth, but quiet handjobs whilst your mother is nowhere nearby? Maybe a blowjob or two in the shower?”

Erik shook his head more firmly. “No, Charles. When I say no sex I mean it. So get used to celibacy because we’ve got a long week ahead of us”.

Charles let out an exasperated sigh, looking over at Erik in disbelief. It was silly of course, but perhaps not as silly as Erik’s assumption that Charles wouldn’t be able to cope without some form of intimacy during their visit. Although his cock tended to have an almost Pavlovian response to Erik’s presence, Charles would surely be able to contain himself for just this short visit.

_…Right?_

 

For the first day of the visit, Charles felt like he coped admirably. In truth for the most part he was rather too preoccupied with the excitement of the occasion to really spend too much time thinking about what Erik had said. Charles’ family had never really been one for celebrating festive occasions, aside from drinking more than usual during Christmastime, and as Charles had no friends who were Jewish he’d certainly never celebrated Hanukkah before. It was fascinating to be able to be with Edie and Erik and to partake in all the little customs and rituals he’d never seen before, and being there to witness each one made Charles feel like he was being granted some sort of special privilege.

Though the main meal wasn’t scheduled until the next day there was still a lot of prep to be done, something Charles did his best to help with in spite of the fact that he was pretty much useless in the kitchen. But in spite of Charles’ ineffectuality Edie was kind and patient, and she tirelessly worked to provide Charles with helpful instruction, in contradiction to Erik’s contribution which seemed to involve watching the two of them with a wide grin on his face, and occasionally trying to steal little bits of food (something Edie almost always prevented with a swift swat to Erik’s hand).

At the end of the first night, after a tiring day of prepping and socialising, Charles stood and watched in quiet awe as Erik and Edie lit the menorah- heart surging with feeling as he listened to Erik reciting Hebrew prayers, his expression focused and his voice soft and reverent. Charles had been a somewhat worried that spending time with the Lehnsherrs might only make him feel worse about his own isolated upbringing, but the effect was the exact opposite. Just seeing Erik being so courteous and considerate with his mother- seeing the loving bond the two of them clearly shared- simply made Charles feel incredibly humbled and grateful, and only made him love Erik more.

Of course, by the time Charles and Erik were alone together in Erik’s former childhood bedroom, Charles was feeling more than a little keen to express that love, regardless of Erik’s previous insistence that no such activity would be to take place. It all started _almost_ innocently- Charles crawled into bed with Erik, draping himself over Erik’s body and pressing his face into Erik’s neck, which was perhaps a somewhat calculated move when Charles knew how much Erik liked having his neck kissed. Still, there was nothing overtly sexual in Charles’ mind as he pressed his lips against Erik’s lightly stubbled skin, murmuring happily as he trailed his hands over Erik’s body, sliding his fingers under the bottom of Erik’s t-shirt and beginning to trace Erik’s ribs with careful fingertips. Of course, by the time Charles was smearing lust-stupid kisses to Erik’s defined jawline and his hands were trailing lower all pretence of innocence was lost, and there was nothing on Charles’ mind but the heady desire to see and touch and feel Erik’s gorgeous cock.

“No, Charles…”

Charles’ hands had barely begun to make their incursion southwards when they were abruptly halted by Erik reaching down to grasp Charles’ wrists, prompting Charles to cease the kissing and look up at Erik in faux-innocence.

“What’s wrong?” Charles asked softly.

Erik shot him a pointed look. “Charles, don’t play with me- you know exactly what you’re doing…”

“What? I just want to cuddle a bit before we go to sleep…”

“You’re kissing my neck and moaning and trailing your hands down towards my cock. You know exactly how to turn me on and you’re doing it perfectly- but it isn’t going to work, Charles”.

Charles couldn’t help but pout at that, prompting Erik to groan and press both hands to his face.

“ _Mein Gott_ , Liebling- don’t look at me like that, you know it kills me… Listen, mama is in the next room, and no matter how much I may want to do all kinds of unspeakably filthy things to you, we can’t. I made a promise to her that we would behave ourselves under her roof”.

Charles only pouted further. “So I can’t even touch it?”

“No, Charles”, Erik replied, shaking his head. He wrapped his arms around Charles and pulled him close, pressing his face into Charles’ hair and sighing quietly before finishing: “Please, Liebling- just go to sleep”.

Charles huffed out an unimpressed noise, but he knew Erik was right. If Edie had requested that they contain themselves then that’s what they needed to do, and Charles would just have to learn to supress his desires for the rest of the visit.

 

Fortunately, the next day provided welcome distraction. Charles awoke to the intoxicating smell of food cooking, prompting him to forget all about trying to get into Erik’s pants as he followed his nose downstairs and into the kitchen. However to Charles’ surprise breakfast was actually a very understated affair. It was only later when he realised why.

Charles was accustomed to eating a lot when he visited Erik’s mother, but nothing could have prepared him for the lavish spread Edie put on for lunch that day. There were appetizers and sides and mains and deserts, and by the end of the occasion Charles was left feeling incredibly stuffed as he lay back on the sofa, resting one hand on his expanded belly and trying to decide it if it would be rude to undo the buttons on his trousers…

“Are you sure I can’t help you with the washing up?” Charles asked, raising his voice to be heard by Edie who was in the nearby in the kitchen.

“No, dear!” Edie shouted back, prompting a surge of relief from Charles given he wasn’t sure he could actually move anyway. “I’m fine- thank you, _Sohn_. You just relax, Charles- and please tell that boy of mine to get his feet off the coffee table. Don’t you say anything, Erik- I know you’re doing it! I don’t even have to look”.

Charles turned to regard Erik sitting behind himself, slipping into a wide grin as he watched Erik open his mouth in protest, before he abruptly closed it and started to grumble as he removed his feet from the coffee table.

“I swear sometimes I think she’s a mutant…” Erik muttered. “She always seems to know when I’m doing something wrong. How do you explain that if it’s not some sort of psychic ability?”

“I’d call it mother’s intuition”, Charles smirked, shifting closer to Erik and pressing a quick kiss to Erik’s cheek, something that earned him a begrudging smile in response as Erik wrapped an arm around Charles’ back.

“So, Charles- how have you enjoyed your first Hanukkah?” Erik asked, rubbing the palm of his hand against Charles’ back.

“It’s been really nice”, Charles replied. “I’m so happy you invited me”.

“Charles, if you hadn’t come with me I’m sure mama would have taken a train into the city and burst into one of your lectures to sing the dreidel song at you and feed you challah by force…”

Charles started to laugh, before immediately groaning and placing one hand over his swollen stomach once more.

“Too much to eat?” Erik enquired. “Well, I guess this means you’re going to be out of action for the rest of the day then, particularly as there’s more food to come later”. Erik leaned closer, nudging the tip of his nose against Charles’ cheek as he murmured. “At least this means I won’t have to worry about you trying to seduce me anymore…”

Charles smiled, turning his face into Erik’s neck as he gave Erik’s thigh a quick squeeze.

“Darling, if your mother keeps feeding us like this I may never have sex with you again…” Charles whispered, trying not to appear too amused at the instant surge of alarm he felt coming from Erik’s mind in response to his words.

 

As predicted, the incredible array of food Charles consumed put paid to his desires to have sex with Erik- for the rest of the day at least. Still, with a further three days to be spent in at Edie’s house, and three cold nights spent curled up in Erik’s arms, it was inevitable that certain needs would start to _rise up_ once more. In spite of Erik’s insistence, Charles had honestly believed that Erik would eventually give in and it wouldn’t be long before Charles was face-to-crotch with Erik’s sizeable appendage once more. But, to Charles’ surprise, Erik was beyond determined, even going so far as to refuse to shower with Charles- almost as if he knew what Charles’ intentions were, or perhaps because he knew that might prove too much of a temptation to resist…

By the final night Charles was feeling resigned, grumpy, defeated, and above all else _incredibly fucking horny_. Since moving in with Erik, Charles had become accustomed to a vigorous and frequent sex life, and having to spend an entire week unable to pursue any kind of release was frustrating beyond measure- particularly as seeing Erik being all sweet and loving with his mother only seemed to make Charles want him more. As they went to bed on that last night Charles wrapped his arms around Erik’s waist from behind, pushing his hard cock pointedly against Erik’s ass but earning himself nothing more than a fond chuckle from Erik and a pointed: “ _Gute Nacht_ , Charles”. After letting out a quiet sigh Charles closed his eyes, and tried to reassure himself with the knowledge that they would be returning home tomorrow night, so at least he wouldn’t have to wait too much longer for some kind of action.

But what Charles hadn’t expected was quite how soon the ‘action’ would commence… Most often Charles was a very heavy sleeper- completely dead to the world until his alarm went off the next morning, and still completely zombie-like until he’d had at least one cup of tea to rouse him. As such, on that occasion it took quite a long while for Charles to register the fact that he was awake, that it was the middle of the night, and that Erik was touching him…

“Erik, wha--?” Charles mumbled, his voice bleary with sleep and his eyes barely open. He was lying on his back on the bed, and though the room was dim and barely illuminated by soft moonlight Charles could see the shape of Erik kneeling between his spread legs- Erik’s hands making quick work of the buttons of Charles’ pyjama top as he undid them. As soon as Charles’ chest was bared Erik quickly grasped hold of the waistband of Charles’ pyjama bottoms, pulling them down in one swift motion and causing Charles to yelp in response.

“Ssshhh…” Erik whispered, leaning over to press a brief kiss to Charles’ lips. His hands reached up to grasp Charles’ own, twining their fingers together as he pressed Charles’ arms down against the mattress, leaving Charles completely at Erik’s mercy…

“Erik…” Charles groaned. It was unfair for Charles to be laid out like this- naked and vulnerable, desperately aroused, with his hard cock jutting up into the empty air just aching for some kind of contact from Erik. Although Charles didn’t know why Erik had changed his mind all of a sudden he felt like he didn’t really care- he just wanted Erik to touch him, to kiss him, to take him- like he’d been thinking about all week long. But no matter how much Charles squirmed, no matter how much Charles begged Erik with soft pleas, Erik did nothing more than keep Charles pinned down against the mattress, staring down at him quietly.

“ _Mein Gott_ , Liebling- you’re so beautiful…” Erik murmured softly.

Charles’ eyes had adjusted to the light somewhat, enabling him to see the gorgeous lines of Erik’s face, and the soft reverence in his eyes that mirrored the sentiment Charles could feel coming from his mind. Erik’s chest was rising and falling with each breath, his hair was in disarray and falling across his forehead, and Charles could see the formidable outline of Erik’s huge cock pushing against his pyjama bottoms. He looked absolutely stunning- very much a vision of temptation come to taunt Charles in the night- made all the more alluring by the fact that Erik still wasn’t moving, wasn’t doing _anything_ \- making Charles’ desperation increase emphatically.

“Erikkkkk…” Charles begged. “Darling- what are you doing? You’re driving me crazy. Please just touch me”.

Erik shook his head. “I can’t…”

“Wha-- What do you mean you can’t?” Charles spluttered, starting to squirm under Erik’s grasp but still not getting anywhere.

“I can’t. I told you- we can’t have sex in mama’s house”.

“But but--” Charles let out an exasperated sound. “But, Erik- it’s the middle of the night and you’ve stripped me completely naked and you’re hard as a rock. What the bloody hell are you doing if you’re not going to fuck me, or touch me at least??”

Erik’s expression grew slightly remorseful as he leaned over Charles on his forearms, running one hand gently through Charles’ hair.

“I just wanted to look at you…” Erik said softly. “I was dreaming about you and I missed you, and I wanted to see you naked”.

“But that’s not fair”, Charles whined, beginning to pout. “I was sleeping and you’ve woken me up and now I’m all aroused and you’re telling me I’m _still_ not allowed to touch you?”

“I couldn’t help myself…”

Charles huffed, turning his face away from Erik and looking through the window by the bed at the starry night outside. There was a low sigh from Erik, and then he lowered his head to nuzzle his face into Charles’ neck, placing soft kisses against his skin as Charles tried to resist.

“I’m sorry, Liebling. I just missed being intimate with you so much…” Erik murmured. “I can’t wait to get you home tomorrow…”

“Mm, clearly not…” Charles grumbled, fighting to supress a moan as Erik pressed kisses to the sensitive spot just behind his ear. “But I’m still mad at you for waking me up for no reason- don’t think you can go kissing me and that will make everything better”.

“It usually works…” Erik grinned, shifting to lie down on top of Charles fully.

There was part of Charles that wanted to protest further, and perhaps a bigger part that wanted to take some satisfaction in abruptly shoving Erik off the bed… But it was late at night and Charles was tired, and it was admittedly very cosy lying there with Erik’s body acting as a kind of comforting blanket, keeping Charles in place. And so Charles let out a resigned sigh, wrapping both arms around Erik’s back as Erik pulled the duvet up to cover them both, and deciding to shelf his protests until morning.

 

When Charles awoke several hours later, protesting was the furthest thing from his mind. He’d gone to bed safe and warm in Erik’s arms but in the morning he found he was cold, and in his bleary state he could do little more than snuggle closer to the warm body next to his own, pulling at the pile of blankets next to himself under which lay Erik- duvet hog extraordinaire... Charles began to tug at the duvet, hoping to extract it from Erik’s grasp so that he could get warm again, but his actions had an entirely different effect. Instead Erik began to stir, murmuring happily and wrapping his arms around Charles, pulling him closer so that Charles ended up sprawled unceremoniously across Erik’s body- something that wouldn’t have been a problem were it not for one thing…

As Charles squirmed in Erik’s grasp, the warmth of the blankets against his torso contrasted by the cold air against his backside, he remembered that he was completely naked. The realisation only made Charles even more determined to join Erik beneath the covers, but as he fought to extract the duvet from Erik’s grasp he found that he wasn’t really paying attention to anything else that was going on- the least of which was the door to the bedroom opening and Erik’s mother slipping inside.

“Morning, boys! I thought I’d bring you both a cup of-- oh _Mein_ _Gott_ ”.

Charles let out a panicked yelp at the sound of Edie’s voice, abruptly yanking the blankets away from Erik and pulling them over himself, but he knew it was too late. Thanks to his telepathy Charles knew that Edie had seen it all, that she’d run from the room immediately afterwards, that she was now frantically hurrying back downstairs muttering under her breath. The whole thing made Charles feel beyond mortified, and he could do little more than roll over and press his face into the pillows, groaning in despair at the utter fool he’d just made of himself.

“Huh?” Erik murmured, his voice blurry with sleep. “What the fuck just happened?”

Charles remained lying face down on the mattress, the blankets pulled up over his head as he groaned: “Your mother just saw me naked- that’s what happened…”

“What? How?”

“Well, some idiot stripped me naked last night…” Charles replied, scowling at Erik even though he couldn’t see him. “And then that same idiot stole all the blankets this morning, leaving me completely exposed when your mother came into the room to bring us a cup of tea”.

“Oh fuck…” Erik replied. “That’s not good. But… you were facing me though, weren’t you? So she can’t have seen that much- just your ass?”

Charles shook his head. “My cock was between my legs…” he replied glumly. “She saw it all”.

“Oh fuck…”

After a moment Erik moved closer, sliding one hand beneath the covers and gently stroking his fingers through Charles’ hair.

“Well… At least you have a really nice ass…” Erik said eventually.

Charles bolted upright in bed, keeping the covers wrapped around himself as he glared down at Erik- who, to his credit, had at least begun to look somewhat contrite.

“This isn’t funny!” Charles hissed. “Your mother just saw me naked, Erik. I’ll never live this down. Plus she’s going to think that we deliberately disobeyed her by having sex in her house”.

Erik shook his head. “Liebling, it’ll be okay. I’ll go talk to mama and explain everything. I’ll tell her it was my fault”.

“It won’t help…” Charles grumbled, completely exasperated with the pure ridiculousness of the situation. “Oh god, I can’t believe your mother just saw me naked… I’m so embarrassed. You might as well just let me climb out of the window and run home now, because I’m never going to be able to face her again”.

For a short while Erik was quiet, clearly deep in thought, and Charles couldn’t help but sigh deeply and return to his fetal state huddled under the covers once more. He expected further words from Erik- perhaps a joke or some lighthearted attempt to relieve the tension- but to his surprise Erik only reached over to give Charles’ shoulder a quick squeeze before he abruptly climbed off the bed and left the room.

After Erik had left for a while Charles considered getting up, putting on clothes, perhaps using his telepathy to make Erik’s mother forget he ever existed… But instead Charles remained where he was- too despondent and humiliated to even move- not even stirring until several minutes later when he heard the sound of the door reopening. Charles stayed hidden as he listened to Erik crossing the room, until he felt the bed dip slightly as Erik sat down on the edge, resting one hand gently on Charles’ back over the blankets.

“Charles?” Erik began cautiously. “You’re still under there, aren’t you?”

“Yes…” Charles replied glumly.

“Are you going to come out?”

“No…”

Erik sighed, edging closer and leaning over Charles fully, so that his chest was pressed against Charles’ back.

“Liebling, I’ve just come to tell you that mama’s gone out”.

“Huh? Why?”

“She went down to the shops to get some supplies. She also said that she wanted to give the two of us some alone time…”

“Oh god”, Charles groaned. “She must think we’re a couple of sex crazed lunatics, not to mention incredibly rude houseguests”.

Erik chuckled softly. “Not exactly. She thinks that we’re two adorable idiots who are hopelessly in love with each other. She also thinks that, if she had a boyfriend as gorgeous as you, she wouldn’t be able to keep her hands to herself either…”

Encouraged by Erik’s words, Charles began to peek his head out from under the duvet. “She said that?” he asked quietly.

Erik nodded, smiling down at Charles. “She did. She also said that I should tell you not to worry- that she didn’t see anything she hasn’t seen before”. Erik grinned widely, leaning close to whisper in Charles’ ear as he added: “She also said you have a fantastic ass…”

Charles couldn’t help but groan and attempt to hide under the covers once more, but Erik quickly stopped him by pulling the duvet aside so that he could crawl back under it- immediately scooping Charles up in a big hug and beginning to nuzzle his face into Charles’ neck.

“Everything’s okay, Charles”, Erik murmured. “Mama’s not mad at us, and in fact I’d say the fact that she’s gone out is a sign that she’s okay with us fucking in her house after all. With that in mind…”

Instantly Erik’s hands began to trail lower, grasping hold of Charles’ glorious arse and giving it a generous squeeze, but Charles was quick to pull Erik’s hands away, all whilst giving him a disapproving look.

“Nuh-uh, Erik. You made a promise not to have sex in your mother’s house, and you’re going to stick to it”.

Erik gaped at Charles in disbelief. “You can’t be serious??” he replied. “You’ve been begging me for sex all week, and now we finally have the opportunity and you’re saying no?”

It was almost too satisfying to refuse Erik- almost like it was a revenge that Charles had been planning all along- but that wasn’t the case. To begin with Charles had been only too willing to set aside obligation and jump on board to ride Erik’s huge cock, but after Edie had reacted with such consideration and sensitivity to Charles’ unfortunate wardrobe malfunction he found himself wanting to do whatever he could to please her.

Charles leaned close to press a quick kiss to the tip of Erik’s nose. “Sorry, love- but you’re just going to have to wait until we get home”.

 

****

 

Erik had been disappointed at the time, but it had been worth his exasperation for Charles to remain on good terms with Edie- something that seemed especially important the longer Charles and Erik’s relationship went on and the more serious their involvement became.

By the time Charles was sitting in the small room where afternoon tea was being served, anxiously waiting for Edie to arrive, he couldn’t help but think of all the times over the past three years when he had stayed at Edie’s house- and each occasion when he’d continued to rebuff Erik’s advances to ensure he respected Edie’s rules... Charles considered himself very fortunate to have a future mother-in-law who was so pleasant and so kind, but there were still times when he worried that he might do something to upset her- particularly when he knew how important Erik was to her given he was her only living relative.

To Charles’ relief, as soon as Edie entered the lunch hall the majority of his worries seemed to vanish. Edie immediately hurried over to Charles, giving him an enthusiastic hug that exhibited a surprising amount of strength for such a small person, before she gestured for Charles to sit down so the tea could be served. To begin with conversation was light and cordial, consisting of idle chit chat about the wedding and not much else, but after a while Charles found that he couldn’t take the suspense any longer, and he needed to know why Edie had requested this meeting.

“Do you still want me to marry Erik?” Charles blurted out.

Edie’s eyes grew wide, and she quickly placed her cup of tea down on the table before reaching over to take Charles’ hand.

“Charles… Of course I want you to marry my Erik. Why wouldn’t I?”

Charles shrugged, starting to feel more than a little embarrassed about appearing so panicked. “Well, you wanted to see me on my own, and I was just worried that maybe you wanted to tell me that you’d changed your mind and you weren’t giving your blessing anymore…”

“Oh, Charles- you are a silly boy…” Edie gently chided, giving Charles’ hand a squeeze. Her eyes were so warm and her expression so open, and in an instant Charles knew he had nothing to fear.

“I wanted to speak to you about the wedding, yes, but for a different reason”, Edie continued, reaching into her pocket with her other hand and withdrawing something which she kept in her enclosed fist. “It’s such a special day for the both of you- my two handsome boys- and I just wanted to give you something that I hope will make it even more special”.

With that, Edie opened her hand at last, and in her palm Charles saw a small metal pin in the shape of a bluebird.

“My Jakob gave this to me the night before our wedding…” Edie explained, her voice tremoring slightly with emotion. “I know the traditions- the ‘something borrowed something blue’- are normally for the bride, but I just thought why not make our own rules? I always wanted to give this to be person Erik married. Often I wondered if he would ever find someone. I certainly never thought he’d find someone like you. But Charles, _mein Schatz_ , I’m so glad he did”.

Edie squeezed Charles’ hand, her skin wrinkled but her touch warm and comforting. “Charles, _Sohn_ , you don’t have to but I’d be honoured if you’d wear this on your wedding day, like I did on mine”.

Charles nodded enthusiastically, swallowing down a large lump in his throat. “I’d love to”, he whispered, wondering what he’d done in life to deserve such a wonderful woman as his future mother-in-law; someone who loved him unconditionally, and who gave him a kind of acceptance he didn’t know he’d been needing his whole life.

For the rest of the meeting Charles found that he couldn’t seem to let go of Edie’s hand. He’d started the day with worries surging through his mind, but now he was centred and calm- anchored to this place by the touch and sincere words of someone who had become more important to Charles than his own mother had ever been. On the table the tiny metal bluebird was resting on an embroidered napkin- a reminder to Charles of how lucky he was- and as he sat there he gazed at it, no longer concerned with all the things that could potentially go wrong on his wedding day, instead simply focused on how happy Erik would be when he saw it pinned to Charles’ tux.

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

One of the aspects of the whole wedding experience that Charles had never really understood was the need for a rehearsal. Since they had started planning the wedding Charles and Raven had talked endlessly about the specific arrangements varying from who was standing where, what music was going to be used, and how long everything was going to take. With such an organised event orchestrated by the most dedicated little sister/wedding planner in the world Charles felt like he knew exactly what was going to happen- so why the need for a rehearsal? Of course, at the same time Charles knew better than to argue, and so he did he best to just remain quiet, remember his lines, and not fall over his own feet…

But though Charles was fairly attuned with the structure of weddings in general, he knew there was something different about this occasion in particular. It wasn’t just the fact that it was a gay wedding, which would certainly lend towards the skewing of certain traditions, it was also the fact that Erik was Jewish, and therefore it was important that the customs of his heritage were adhered to and respected. Yes, Erik himself may not have been too concerned with following all of the established practices, but Charles knew that Erik’s mother would have certain expectations, and so he had made sure to talk at length with Raven as to how best to encompass them.

However, in spite of his earlier preparation, on the day of the rehearsal Charles found himself feeling like there were perhaps a few things that he still didn’t quite understand…

“Remind me what the glass is for again…” Charles whispered, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb Raven who was busy running through instructions of where everyone would need to be.

Erik looked over at Charles and smiled. “It’s just tradition, Charles”, he replied. “There are a number of theories as to what it represents. Mama always told me it was to show that marriage holds sorrow as well as joy, and that it demonstrates our commitment to stand by each other even in the hard times”.

“Well that’s… rather bleak. Is it safe though? What if I cut my foot when I step on it?”

“You won’t. The glass is wrapped in a cloth, and you’ll be wearing shoes. Besides, Charles- you don’t _have_ to step on it. If you want I can do it on my own, or we don’t have to do it at all”.

Charles shook his head. “No, it’s tradition- we have to do it. I want to do this properly. It’s important”.

With that Charles turned his attention back towards Raven, listening intently as she continued to explain everything, until the point when Charles felt Erik step closer and place one hand on the small of Charles’ back.

“Liebling…” Erik said softly, leaning close to speak into Charles’ ear. “You know we don’t have to do any of these things. I appreciate how much effort you’ve put into following tradition, and I’m grateful that you’re so sensitive to mama’s wishes, but at the end of the day this is our wedding, and it should be what you and I want most of all”.

Charles turned to look at Erik. “You don’t want to step on the glass?” he asked quietly.

“Charles, I just want to marry you…” Erik replied with a grin, giving Charles’ side a quick squeeze with his hand. “Two days almost seems like too long to wait, particularly when I have to practise it now. Though I suppose there are some things that I wouldn’t mind going over, just to make sure we’re properly prepared…” Immediately Erik’s expression turned distinctly filthy, and his hand began to travel lower as he added: “Just as soon as this is over, how about we go rehearse our wedding night too…?”

Charles barely had time to respond before there was a sharp hissing sound and someone abruptly slapped Erik’s hand away, and even without looking Charles knew who it was.

“Sorry, mama…” Erik muttered, stepping away as Edie moved forward to stand in-between them to prevent further mischief, prompting Charles’ face to flush distinctly red. The rest of the room fell silent and Charles realised that Raven had stopped talking and was glaring over at them, so he mouthed a quick “Sorry” at her which she clearly accepted as she let out a brief sigh and resumed her speech.

_“I can’t wait until we get to go on honeymoon so we can escape this madness…”_ Erik sent to Charles with his mind, making Charles subtly nod his agreement.

_“Me neither, darling. Let’s just hope that Raven hasn’t secretly arranged for everyone to join us on holiday…”_

_“Mein Gott, don’t even joke about that being a possibility… If I have to spend my honeymoon seeing my mother in a bathing suit every day I’m calling Azazel to transport us and we’re eloping right here and now”._

Charles slipped into a wide grin, fighting to control his amusement so that Raven didn’t catch on to the fact that he and Erik were continuing to have a private conversation. Mercifully Raven didn’t notice anything amiss, and as the rehearsal progressed Charles continued to think about the honeymoon he and Erik would be going on next week.

Although Charles had been joking when he’d suggested that other people might join them on their vacation, now that he’d said it he couldn’t stop considering the possibility. The honeymoon was something that Raven had organised entirely independently- insisting that she wanted to arrange it for Charles and Erik as a wedding gift- and though Charles appreciated the gesture he was mildly concerned as to where they might end up, and who might be going with them. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time Charles and Erik had been interrupted by their ever-expanding family…

 

****

 

Back when Charles and Erik had first met, it had been because Charles had started a job at Lehnsherr Corp. and Erik had been his boss- first working under Erik and then ending up _under him_ point blank. The arrangement had continued until Charles had left the company to pursue his career in teaching, attaining a position as a genetics professor at the local university- a vocation he enjoyed immensely that filled him with great pride. Although Erik had always supported Charles’ career he had never actually visited Charles at the university- not that Charles ever really expected him to given that Erik was usually working whilst Charles was giving lectures or conducting research in the university labs. It was for that reason why Charles was so surprised when he was in his office one day, marking papers, and he sensed a bright and familiar mind walking down the hallways towards him.

“Come in”, Charles said in response to the knock on his door, leaning back in his chair and smiling widely as he watched Erik enter the room and close the door behind himself.

“Well this is a nice surprise…” Charles grinned, realising that Erik must have come straight from work given his smart appearance. “What brings you here?”

“You said you were working late, and I know that means you’ll probably stay here buried in your books for hours, not even thinking about dinner and just consuming several cups of tea to keep you going. Therefore, I brought food”.

Erik withdrew his hand from behind his back, clutched within which was a bag branded with what Charles recognised as the logo of his favourite sandwich shop.

“Is it alright that I’m here?” Erik asked.

“Of course!” Charles exclaimed, beaming as Erik stepped closer and deposited the bag on the desk. “Suddenly I feel a bit rude for having never invited you to visit me at work before, though I suppose there’s not much to see here anyway”.

“Oh, I think there’s plenty…” Erik replied, smiling as he picked up a framed photograph from Charles’ desk. There were a few little mementos dotted around Charles’ office- mainly pictures of Charles with Raven, as well as others with friends such as Hank- but on Charles’ desk itself there was just one single framed photo.

“Um, it’s from the night of Raven and Azazel’s wedding…” Charles said cautiously. “Apparently the photographer took it when we were sat together. Raven sent it to me- she thought it was… _nice_ ”.

In Charles’ opinion, ‘nice’ barely covered it. The picture showed Charles and Erik sat together beside a table, knees touching and hands entwined. It was such a simple moment, something natural and un-staged, and what Charles loved about it the most was the look in both his and Erik’s eyes as they gazed at each other- and expression of pure bliss and devotion.

“It _is_ nice”, Erik agreed, placing the photo back on the desk. “I have the same one in my office”.

“You do??”

Erik nodded. “It’s on my desk, like this one”.

“Oh… So, um, what do you say when people ask you about it…?”

Erik’s smile only grew wider as he stepped closer and reached over to gently cup Charles’ face with one hand.

“I say that it’s a picture of me and my gorgeous boyfriend- Charles, the most wonderful man I’ve ever met…”

Charles found himself feeling completely spellbound as Erik leaned over to capture Charles’ mouth with a kiss- the warmth of his words mirrored by the heartfelt sentiment Charles could feel coming from his mind. Erik had never been one for having clutter in his office- Charles remembered as much from when he’d used to work at Lehnsherr Corp.- so to know that Erik considered Charles worthy of a place on his desk made Charles feel incredibly privileged.

“You should visit me at work more often…” Charles murmured when they’d finished kissing. “I kind of like it”.

Erik grinned. “I would, but I don’t think I’d be able to contain myself if I did that… You look so adorably fuckable wearing your smart clothes in your fancy office with your impressive credentials framed on the wall. I’ve suddenly become consumed with a devastating need to bend you over this desk and fuck you so hard that you’ll find it difficult to sit down afterwards”.

“Erik…” Charles shivered.

“Professor…” Erik whispered, beginning to nibble on Charles’ earlobe.

It was a terrible idea, of course. Even if Charles knew that in theory he would be able to use his telepathy to ensure that they weren’t discovered, the only problem was that being fucked by Erik tended to erode Charles’ concentration, meaning there was every chance he would end up broadcasting their activities to every mind in the vicinity rather than shielding them. But when Erik was sucking marks into Charles’ neck and using one hand to gently palm at Charles’ gradually hardening cock, it was increasingly difficult to say no. At least, it would have been, were it not for one thing…

Charles was so engrossed in Erik he almost didn’t notice when there was a familiar whooshing sound accompanied by an almost imperceptible change in pressure, until a voice muttered something in Russian and Charles abruptly realised that they weren’t alone anymore.

“Azazel!” Charles exclaimed, causing Erik to visibly jump as he whirled to face their unexpected visitor.

“Ah, apologies for interruption…” Azazel said, pointedly avoiding Charles’ and Erik’s eyes. “But it is baby time”.

 

Although Charles hadn’t been too thrilled about being disturbed by Azazel, particularly when in such an obvious state of arousal, he found he was quickly able to set aside his preoccupations when he realised that Raven was in labour. Thanks to Azazel’s speedy assistance Charles and Erik soon found themselves in the local hospital, waiting anxiously for news from the nearby birthing room and, in Charles’ case, complaining about it…

“I don’t understand why she won’t let me in there…” Charles grumbled, picking absently at the rim of polystyrene cup he was holding, inside of which was some of the worst tea Charles had ever had the misfortune to consume. “I’m a telepath, so I’m practically in the room with her anyway”.

Erik reached over to give Charles’ knee a comforting squeeze. “Charles, you know there’s a big difference between being able to sense the minds in the room and actually physically being in there- particularly if you’re standing south of the border… You can understand why Raven wouldn’t want her brother in there when she’s pushing a small mutant out of her intimate area, can’t you?”

“Mutant?” Charles said, turning to look at Erik. “You know we don’t know that for sure, right?”

“But the boy’s parents are both mutants”.

“Yes, and both my parents were human. So were yours. There’s nothing to suggest that the offspring of two mutants will even be a precursor to a dominant mutant gene- there’s been no research into it. I think it’s likely, certainly, but it’s not a definite”.

“Hmm…” Erik said, looking thoughtful. “Well I guess we’ll just have to hope for the best then”.

“Well what’s ‘the best’? I know you’d love for the boy to be a mutant, but you know there’s a good chance we won’t know if he is or isn’t for years- not until his powers manifest. And in the meantime it isn’t fair to put that kind of pressure on him. Not to mention the fact that, if he turns out to be completely human, that might come as somewhat of a relief for Raven anyway”.

The look Erik shot Charles was distinctly steely.

“Why wouldn’t Raven want a mutant child?” Erik asked.

Charles shook his head. “I’m not saying she wouldn’t want a mutant child, but you know how preoccupied she’s been recently with this Trask business in the news. She thinks she’s bringing a child into a world where he will one day be captured and experimented on. There may not be any proof that Trask is even doing anything of the sort, but Raven certainly thinks it’s true- and you’re not helping by encouraging her”.

“I’m not encouraging her, I’m supporting her. Trask is bad news- we all know it, and as a matter of fact the Brotherhood are--"

“Don’t”, Charles interrupted, holding up one hand. “I don’t want to talk about this right now. I’m not sure I even want to know if you’re plotting anything. This day is about Raven and her baby- that’s all. We can talk about Trask later”.

“Fine…” Erik grumbled, folding his arms over his chest, seemingly content to put an end to the conversation.

 

For the next couple of hours Charles sat in moderate silence with Erik, both sulking over their conflict of opinion, until Charles began to drift off and Erik sighed and reached over to him, wrapping his arm around Charles’ back and pulling him close so that Charles could lean against Erik’s chest and get some sleep. It felt like it wasn’t long at all that Charles was napping before he was awoken by Erik gently shaking his shoulder, and he opened his eyes to find a doctor standing before them.

Even before Charles entered Raven’s hospital room he knew that everything had gone to plan. Though Charles had promised long ago not to look into Raven’s mind, there were occasions when she would seem to push out so much feeling that Charles found he could perceive it even without prying- usually when her emotions were massively heightened for one reason or another. This was one of those occasions, because as soon as Charles awoke from his nap all he could feel was an intense wave of deep and devoted love- the love Raven had for her newly born son.

Charles entered the room hand-in-hand with Erik, smiling widely as he took in the sight of Raven in the hospital bed- resplendent in her true blue form, and with an equally blue little boy cradled in her arms and Azazel sitting by their side.

“Oh, Raven- he’s perfect!” Charles gasped, feeling tears well up in his eyes as he gazed at the happy little scene.

“He is”, Raven agreed, smiling down at the small mutant. “Definitely a keeper. Would you like to hold him?”

Charles nodded, letting go of Erik’s hand and stepping over towards the bed. Within a short while Charles was cradling the small blue mutant in his arms, completely entranced by the boy’s wide yellow eyes and unique long fingers and, to Charles’ surprise, the long tail that slowly wrapped around his wrist.

“Astounding…” Charles murmured. He looked over to Raven and Azazel and added: “Have you decided on a name yet?”

“Ah, yes- I believe so…” Raven replied. “We were thinking ‘Kurt’”.

Charles couldn’t help but look surprised. “Kurt? Really?”

Raven nodded. “It was Azazel’s grandfather’s name. Look, I know that ‘Kurt’ doesn’t have the best associations for us, given it was the name of our asshole of a stepfather, but why not reclaim it? Why not make it something good?”

Charles looked back to the small mutant in his arms, using his telepathy to gently brush against the boy’s mind, to connect with him and welcome him to the world like only a telepath could.

“It works”, Charles said with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you… Kurt”.

 

The next few months of Kurt’s life passed relatively quickly. Charles was unsurprised to see Raven settle into motherhood extremely easily as she enjoyed each day with her boy, helping him learn and grow. Charles and Erik were both frequent visitors to their house, spending time with Raven, Azazel, and Kurt whenever they could, and on a few occasions just looking after Kurt on their own so that his parents could have the opportunity to go on dates or just generally spend quality time together.

Although just being able to visit with Kurt was enjoyable enough, Charles had to admit his favourite thing about spending time with the boy was actually seeing Erik interact with him. Considering Charles had never seen Erik around any children before he had no idea what to expect, and part of him had assumed that Erik would perhaps be rather out of his depth when it came to communicating with kids. However, to Charles’ surprise (and emphatic enjoyment) Erik was fantastic with Kurt- always patient and considerate, and surprisingly goofy…

When Charles had first met Erik he’d found him to be somewhat imposing and intimidating- the enigmatic CEO of his company who led a secret double life as the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants. In reality, Erik was softer than Charles would have imagined, sweeter, and seeing him with his defences down always seemed to make Charles love him just that little bit more.

“You’re doing it again, Charles…”

Charles knew he was staring but he couldn’t help it- the sight of Erik lying sprawled across the floor on his stomach playing with Kurt was just too adorable to look away from. With a wide grin still on his face Charles crossed the room towards Erik, dropping down onto the playmat so he could lie pressed against Erik’s back, his face nuzzled into Erik’s neck.

“Charles…” Erik grunted. “You’re not as light as you think, you know…”

“You can handle it”, Charles replied, reaching over to gently brush one hand through Kurt’s hair, heart warming as the small mutant immediately began to smile and laugh.

When Raven and Azazel returned home some time later they found Charles and Erik still like that- lying on the floor with Kurt, all three of them sound asleep. Charles was rudely awoken by Raven bodily jumping on top of him, prompting a tickling fight between the two Xavier siblings that only came to an end thanks to Erik’s intervention. After they’d all calmed down Azazel wandered off to make some drinks whilst Charles, Raven, and Erik all sat together- Charles leaning against Erik’s chest whilst Raven held Kurt in her lap.

“Thanks again for offering to babysit”, Raven said with a smile. “I love this little guy but it’s really tiring sometimes, so it’s nice to have a night off once in a while to relax”.

“Happy to help”, Charles responded. “Anytime you need a babysitter just let us know”.

“I wish it were that simple… You guys are fantastic help, but eventually I’m going to have to find some real childcare- particularly if I want to start working again”.

Charles raised his eyebrows. “You want to get a job?” he asked. His surprise was to be expected- during Raven’s entire adult life she had been unable to maintain any kind of career for longer than a few months, due both to the fact that she had a tendency to get bored easily and because she was fortunate to have enough money that she didn’t really need to work. Charles had presumed that having Kurt would keep Raven busy for the foreseeable future at least, so he certainly didn’t expect that she’d be looking for a job.

“I know it probably seems a bit sudden…” Raven replied. “But having Kurt has really made me want to be able to provide for him properly, and not just rely on Azazel or my inheritance. I want to do something with my life- really make a difference, you know? Particularly if I can do something to help mutants- like working at a school or something”.

“Well if you want to do something like that I can offer a suggestion”, Erik interjected. “Why don’t you come and work for me?”

Charles wasn’t sure who seemed more shocked- himself or Raven.

“You’re not serious?” Raven said quietly.

“Absolutely. You’re a very smart girl, Raven, and you have an incredible mutation. I’m sure you could be a lot of help to my organisation, and you wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone to look after Kurt- we’ve got a daycare option set up”.

“You do?” Charles asked.

Erik nodded. “Yes- we implemented it just recently”. Erik paused, a low flush just starting to colour his cheeks as he added: “I… I thought that I might need it someday”.

It was always endearing to see Erik so adorably abashed, and though Charles wanted to discuss the topic further he recognised that this wasn’t really about him- it was about Raven and what Erik had very kindly offered her.

“I think that’s a great idea”, Charles said with a smile, giving Erik’s knee a comforting squeeze. “Don’t you agree, Raven?”

“I… I… Well, yeah- that would be fantastic! Thank you, Erik- thank you so much”.

With that, Raven moved over to where Charles and Erik were sitting, depositing Kurt in Charles’ lap before wrapping her arms around Erik in a fierce hug that he only mildly resisted.

It was such a nice thing for Erik to do, and Charles couldn’t have been prouder of him in that moment. Charles could tell how much it meant to Raven, as if it weren’t already obvious by the way she was squeezing the life out of Erik, and it made Charles so happy to see the bond Raven and Erik had forged with each other.

Of course, had Charles known the problems that would ultimately be caused by Raven going to work for Erik, he might have seen things differently…

 

****

 

Charles couldn’t have known it at the time, but that night- that decision- was something that would end up setting off a course of events that- at one point- risked tearing apart everything Charles and Erik had built during the preceding months. It was a crisis that at one point had seemed unassailable, but one that had instead ultimately resulted in one thing- a proposal.

There were many occasions when Charles had thought about the way his life had worked out- how all those seemingly insignificant events had eventually resulted in the situation he found himself in now- where he was mere days away from getting married to the love of his life. More than once Charles and Erik had talked about divine providence, about fate, and about how it sometimes seemed like they were always supposed to end up here. Erik had always been surprisingly romantic about it- declaring (often when suitably liquored up) that the two of them were meant to find each other, that it was fate, that they were always bound to fall in love. Charles always remained rather more reserved on the subject, exhibiting the scepticism of a scientist, but he couldn’t help but feel thrilled every time Erik spoke with such certainty about the conviction of his heart.

Later that night, Charles found himself being reminded of the fact that it wasn’t just Erik who was happy to put the success of their relationship down to the influence of some higher power… Raven had always been somewhat of a romantic, frequently following her heart rather than her head (and often allowing it to lead her into trouble), and when it came to Charles and Erik she was usually the first to speak about how they were supposedly so made for each other. Charles was generally the first to dampen her enthusiasm, unable to gush so freely about his relationship with Erik no matter how much he adored him, except for on the occasions when he’d had more than a little liquor to loosen his lips…

“You know-- you know the thing about Erik is?” Charles said, slurring his words as he leaned heavily against Raven’s chair. “The thing is-- the thing is he’s-- he’s got a hugeeeee--"

“COCK”, Raven shouted, grinning wildly. “Yes, we know Erik’s got a huge cock- you’ve described it three times this evening already. What were your words again? ‘Massive, marvellous, mouth-watering…’ Honestly, Charles- your head’s so full of dick it’s a wonder there’s any room left for your brain”.

Charles leaned over to smack Raven’s arm, grinning back just as manically. “No, Raven! I wasn’t going to say that at all. It’s-- It’s his HEART that’s huge. Seriously. It’s hugeeeee. You wouldn’t think it, cause-- cause I know sometimes Erik’s so serious that he looks like he’s just been chewing a wasp. But he’s lovely. He’s really lovely, Raven. And he’s sooooo good to me. He is. I love him. He’s perfect”.

“Awwwww, Charl! You are such a sweetie. You’re going to make such a cute bride”.

“Raven I’m not a bride!”

“Ah, right- of course”, Raven replied, winking as she reached over to adjust the veil that was currently pinned to Charles’ hair.

It had all been Raven’s idea, as usual. Charles had never had a proper bachelor party (or ‘stag do’ as Raven was insisting it be called) and to be honest he had assumed he’d gotten away with that fact. But of course Charles should have known he wouldn’t be able to get off that easily, and it came as no real surprise when, the night before the wedding, he’d been rounded up and dragged off to a party to celebrate his last night of single life. Three hours and an obscene amount of drinks later Charles had all but given up any attempts to resist the ridiculousness of the evening, and consequently he was now sporting a cute white veil, a large ‘Groom To Be’ badge, and a seriously fuzzy head…

The fuzzy head could certainly be credited as a big reason as to why, thirty minutes later, Charles found himself outside in the hotel grounds, giggling like a naughty schoolboy as he ran with Raven through the darkened gardens. For some reason one of them (Charles couldn’t remember which) had decided that it would be an amazing idea to take the white lacy knickers Charles had been given as a gag gift and put them on one of the statues outside. Hank had reluctantly agreed to act as lookout, promising to use his beast side to make some sort of growl to warn them if anyone came nearby, and under that assumption Charles had happily given in to a moment of carefree stupidity- something that he didn’t often allow himself in his regular life.

“You need to move them higher”, Raven said in a loud whisper. “We’ve got to get the underpants over the balls”.

Charles stifled a laugh, tugging more forcefully at the delicate panties and hoping they wouldn’t rip as he and Raven attempted to manoeuvre them over the statue’s impressive marble package.

“You know, we’re probably doing the hotel a favour…” Charles said whilst grinning like a loon. “It’s really rather obscene for this statue to have his bits on display like this. I mean, what kind of hotel has a statue of a man doing some kind of naked headstand?? It’s absurd. Really we’re helping them out”.

Raven shook her head. “Trust you to try and put some kind of moral spin on things…” she replied. “There!” Raven exclaimed once the underwear was firmly in place. “All done, and nothing bad happe--"

It was midway through Raven’s sentence when suddenly there was a distinct growling sound, and the two of them quickly realised that someone was approaching.

“Run!” Raven hissed. Considering their powers of respective telepathy and transformation it was perhaps an unnecessary directive, but nevertheless the childish energy of the evening took over and before Charles knew it he was sprinting away from the scene of the crime, initially following Raven until she ducked behind a row of bushes and he lost her.

Had Charles’ mental faculties been more in-place it was probable that he would have found his way back to his hotel room relatively easily, but the combination of the alcohol and the giddy excitement and the pitch black night made the task that much more difficult. Even after Charles was mostly sure that he wasn’t being followed he still kept running, allowing the adrenaline of nearly being caught to spur him on, until he rather abruptly slipped on the wet grass underfoot and went tumbling to the ground… It was definitely more Charles’ pride that was hurt than anything else as he began to gingerly pick himself up, cursing under his breath as he felt his trousers becoming steadily more dampened by the sodden earth, until the point when Charles realised someone was approaching and he completely froze in place.

“Charles…?”

Charles was beyond mortified as he watched Erik step out of the darkness in front of his eyes. In truth he hadn’t really expected to see anyone else wandering around the hotel grounds so late at night, least of all Erik- and for very good reason.

“Don’t look at me!” Charles begged, holding up his hands in front of himself.

“Charles? Charles, are you alright?” Erik asked, stepping closer, worry evident on his face just barely illuminated by the dim moonlight.

“Erik, don’t look at me!” Charles repeated, attempting to use the veil he was still wearing to obscure his face. “It’s the night before our wedding and you’re not supposed to see me. You need to go. Now!”

Erik exhaled a long sigh. “ _Mein Gott_ , Charles- I thought that you were injured… What are you doing out here anyway? I thought Raven was supposed to be throwing you a party?”

“She was, she did… But then we decided to come out here to put pants on the statue and we heard someone coming so we ran and I lost Raven so I tried to find my way back but then I slipped and fell and now you’re here and…” Charles trailed off, leaning over and placing his head in his hands as he finished: “Gosh, I’m just so embarrassed and now I’ve gone and ruined the whole wedding…”

Charles already realised that Erik was unlikely to just leave even if it’s what Charles had asked for, and so he was unsurprised when Erik immediately stepped closer, kneeling down on the ground and gently taking hold of Charles’ hands.

“Liebling, you haven’t ruined anything…” Erik replied softly. “This whole ‘not seeing each other the night before the wedding’ thing is just a stupid tradition- you said so yourself. Right now I care more about getting you back to a nice, warm hotel room than I do about any silly little custom. Look at you, Charles- you’re completely soaked. Please, baby- let me take you to your room”.

“But… But we shouldn’t see each other…” Charles mumbled, absently pulling at Erik’s sleeve.

“Well it’s a little late for that, don’t you think? Now be quiet and wrap your arms around me- I’m carrying you back”.

Part of Charles wanted to protest further, but it was hard to object when Erik was being so reasonable, and when Charles really did want little more than to return to his hotel room for the night. And so, Charles remained quiet and compliant as Erik lifted him up and carried him bridal-style back towards the hotel, until the point when they neared the lobby and Charles insisted that Erik put him down so he could walk.

“You need to go”, Charles urged, gazing up at Erik. “If Raven sees us she’ll kill me”.

Erik shook his head. “Liebling, I’m not going anywhere until I’m satisfied that you’re safely in your room. If you’re so worried about being spotted then here- wear this”.

At that Erik removed his hooded jacket, ignoring Charles’ meagre protests as he dressed him in the garment, before eventually zipping up the front and pulling the hood over Charles’ head so he was nice and snug.

“I look silly…” Charles mumbled.

Erik smiled. “You look cute. Now, I don’t suppose there’s much chance of your whisky-soaked brain using telepathy to keep you hidden, so I suggest you keep your head down and try to look inconspicuous”.

It was perhaps a big ask, particularly when the alcohol Charles had imbued was enough to have him swaying unsteadily as Erik began to lead him upstairs, but Erik’s arm remained wrapped around Charles’ back to support him, enabling Charles to simply lean on Erik for support as they walked together. Along the way they passed the odd reveller still celebrating the upcoming nuptials, but one glare from Erik was enough to prompt them to keep to a safe distance, meaning there were no incidents to disrupt their journey to Charles’ hotel room.

When they arrived at Charles’ accommodation for the night Erik used his powers to unlock the door before leading Charles inside. The sight of a big, comfy bed had never been more welcoming to Charles, and he flopped down on top of it gratefully, remaining splayed across the mattress on his stomach as Erik turned his attention towards removing Charles’ shoes and socks (and veil) so he could get him ready for bed.

“Come on, Liebling- let’s get you under the covers so you can get some rest”, Erik said softly, grasping Charles’ on the shoulder and rolling him over so that he could begin to remove Charles’ clothing- something that immediately had a predictable effect on Charles… Just the feeling of Erik’s hands on Charles’ body immediately prompted a rush of arousal- as accustomed as Charles was to such activity most commonly being followed by a good, long fucking session- and so, by the time Charles was in his underwear and Erik was pulling the duvet up to cover him, Charles’ thoughts had moved firmly away from sleep and towards an entirely different kind of bedtime activity.

“Charles…” Erik said warningly, shooting Charles a pointed look no doubt in response to the feeling of Charles’ knee gently rubbing against his crotch. “Don’t even think about it. You need to sleep”.

“I don’t want to sleep alone…” Charles pouted, winding his arms around Erik’s neck and attempting to pull him closer. “I want you here with me. I want you in my bed. I want you to fuck me, darling…”

Erik cursed under his breath. “Liebling, normally I would want nothing more than that, but it’s the night before our wedding and I know if I allowed this to happen and you woke up next to me tomorrow morning you’d only be upset with yourself”.

“Nuh-uh”, Charles replied, shaking his head and starting to press his face into Erik’s neck so he could kiss him there- something he knew would make it very difficult for Erik to continue to say no.

“ _Mein Gott_ , Charles…” Erik muttered.

Charles could feel Erik’s cock filling out nicely from where he was still pressing his knee against it, and Charles’ own arousal only continued to increase as he licked and sucked at the sensitive skin of Erik’s neck, listening to him gasp and moan in response. But just when Charles thought he was getting somewhere and he was about to break Raven’s rules in spectacular style by having pre-wedding day sex, rather abruptly Erik grasped hold of Charles’ hands and pinned them down against the mattress, leaving Charles spread out helplessly as Erik leaned over him.

“Erikkkkkkkk…” Charles whined.

“Fuck, I don’t think I’m ever going to stop being tempted by you, wanting you, needing you desperately…” Erik murmured, the expression on his face both sultry and thoughtful. “But I know how important this is to you, how much it means to you that Raven has put such effort into creating such a beautiful event for us, and therefore how much you want to honour all the silly little traditions she’s put in place…”

“I want you, Charles…” Erik continued, using one hand to gently brush Charles’ hair back from his forehead before running his thumb over Charles’ plump lower lip. “But we have the rest of our lives to sleep together... So, please get some rest, and I’ll see you in the morning”.

“Oh…” Charles mumbled, gazing up at Erik wantonly and helplessly. “Can’t I even have a goodnight kiss?”

Erik smiled, and Charles felt himself become warmed by the expression- like all of the affection Erik was feeling was coursing over Charles like the rays of the sun. Without another word Erik leaned down to press a sweet, simple kiss to Charles’ forehead, before quietly whispering in Charles’ ear: “I can’t wait to marry you tomorrow…”

“Me neither”, Charles replied, the end of his words becoming distorted by a very large hiccup that suggested maybe Charles really did need to try and sleep off the alcohol he’d consumed after all.

After a final, fond look from Erik he finally withdrew from the bed, ensuring Charles was securely tucked in before he turned and left the room, leaving Charles alone with his thoughts. Tomorrow Charles would be getting married. After so many years together Charles and Erik would finally be exchanging their vows in front of all their friends and family- something Charles had daydreamed about numerous times, even before he’d gotten engaged. It had taken a long time to get there. So much had happened along the way. But that night, as Charles curled up against the pillow next to him in place of his fiancé, he knew there was nothing he would change- not when it seemed like everything was perhaps that little bit ‘meant-to-be’ after all.

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

 

When Charles awoke in the morning he was feeling distinctly rough… Last night’s partying had resulted in a dry mouth, a sore head, and memories of being escorted back to the hotel room by Erik- someone Charles was absolutely not supposed to have seen the night before his wedding. Nevertheless Charles was at least reassured by the fact that no one really knew that had happened, as evidenced by the litany of messages Charles found on his phone from Raven- ranging from enquiries as to where Charles had gone to a video of Raven trying to balance a novelty penis-shaped hat on a sleeping Azazel’s head whilst laughing hysterically. Eventually Raven’s last text had been a lengthy paragraph telling Charles that she loved him, that she would see him in the morning, and that he had better be ready to commence getting dressed promptly at nine o’clock.

It was a little after nine when Charles was interrupted by a loud banging on his door, something that startled him out of the dream-like state he had been in all morning and almost made him slip over in the shower. Rather hastily Charles withdrew from beneath the steady stream of water and dressed in his underwear and a dressing gown, before blearily stumbling over to the door and opening it, and immediately being greeted by a large camera that was shoved in his face…

“Good god, Charles- you look awful”, Raven said, rather unhelpfully.

Charles groaned, glaring past the wedding photographer at Raven who was quietly sipping on a large iced coffee, no evidence at all of last night’s drunken debauchery written on her face.

“Not all of us can magically make ourselves look blemish-free and clear headed, you know…” Charles grumbled.

Raven smiled. “I know, brother- which is why I bought help…” At that Raven stepped forward into the room, handing Charles a large cup of tea which he could already tell was laced with a sinful amount of sugar and cream, and beckoning in a succession of followers. Initially Charles was somewhat alarmed by the sight of several very professional-looking people dressed in stark white outfits and brandishing large holdalls, but within ten minutes time Charles was lounging happily in an armchair, having some kind of soothing cream applied to his face that seemed to ease the tension he could feel between his temples.

“Thank you for this…” Charles said, smiling over at Raven who was sat cross-legged on the bed, her wedding binder spread open in front of her as she went through all the details one last time.

“No problem, Charles”, Raven replied, not even looking up as she focused on ticking things off a list. “I know how bad you are at holding your liquor, so figured you could probably use some help to make yourself look presentable for your groom”. Raven paused, glancing up at Charles and smiling as she added: “How are you feeling about that anyway? Excited? Nervous?”

Charles let out a long sigh. “Maybe both? I’m dying to be married to Erik but I can’t deny that the idea of standing up there in front of everyone, in front of Erik’s mother in particular, is making me feel distinctly queasy. What if I mess up my vows? Or trip over? Or _worse_??”

“And what would ‘worse’ be, exactly?”

“I don’t know, I’m trying not to think about it…”

Raven smiled sympathetically. “Charles, this is exactly why we have trained professionals on hand to help you relax. In a little while we’re going to get you a nice massage, we’re going to wash your hair, and by the time you’re in your tux you will have forgotten about all the things that absolutely, definitely won’t go wrong and you’ll just be eager to get down that aisle and marry the love of your life”.

“You really think so?”

Raven’s firm nod made her conviction completely clear. “Absolutely, Charles”.

 

To Raven’s credit, she was pretty much right. After a serious amount of pampering Charles slipped into the bathroom to change into his suit for the wedding, emerging a short while later to find he had been joined by Hank and Kurt- both looking fantastic in their respective outfits.

“Oh my gosh…” Charles exhaled, reaching down to pick up Kurt and giving the boy a firm squeeze. “He looks absolutely adorable!”

It had been Raven’s idea to have Kurt be part of the wedding party- something that Charles had wholeheartedly supported at the time and that he was even more enthusiastic about now that he was able to see him in his wedding outfit- a smart black suit complete with an appropriate flap in the trousers so that Kurt’s tail could poke out. Kurt’s responsibility in the ceremony (other than to look incredibly cute) was to keep hold of the rings until it was time for Charles and Erik to exchange them- a task made all the more manageable by the fact that Raven had ensured there was a small zipped pocket within Kurt’s jacket to keep the wedding bands safe.

“Are you sure you want me as your best man?” Hank asked, smirking slightly as he raised his eyebrows at Charles. “I wouldn’t be offended if you decided to give the honour to Kurt instead”.

Charles laughed. “Nice try, but you’re not getting out of doing your best man’s speech that easily”.

“Damn it…” Hank grinned. “It was worth a try. I don’t know how I’m going to manage to compete with whatever Azazel offers up for his speech”.

“I’ve heard it- you should be worried”, Raven interjected, prompting a groan from Hank that immediately made Raven start laughing as she added: “Though to be honest, if anyone should be worried it’s Erik. You can’t work for someone for eight years without picking up on a few of their juiciest secrets”.

“Wait a minute…” Charles said. “Azazel’s not going to say anything to embarrass Erik in front of his mother, is he? Cause that would be…” Charles just about managed to stifle a laugh. “…Terrible”.

“I’m saying nothing”, Raven replied, holding up her hands in mock innocence, and suddenly Charles realised he probably wasn’t the one who needed to feel apprehensive about what might happen at the wedding.

 

For the rest of the morning Charles stayed in his room with Raven, Hank, and Kurt- preparing for the ceremony and having their pictures taken by one of the designated wedding photographers. Somewhere nearby Erik was undergoing a similar experience, and Charles’ heart clenched every time his mind lingered on the thought of Erik, looking stunning in a smart suit, carefully preparing himself for the biggest day of his life. It was unusual for Charles to be so close to Erik but to be unable to connect with him. Charles was accustomed to using his telepathy to keep in constant contact with Erik- maintaining a loose thread of attachment between them over long distances, and entwining his mind with Erik’s own every time they drew nearer together. However, since last night Charles had been careful to maintain a sort of detachment from Erik, ensuring that he didn’t accidentally pick up on anything Erik was seeing or doing- almost as if there was a veil obscuring their view of each other until the moment of the wedding ceremony.

When it came time for the event to begin Charles was set up in a room to the side of the main wedding hall with Raven, waiting patiently (and somewhat nervously) as the guests all took their seats. In a short while Hank, Azazel, and Kurt would be taking their places at the front of the room next to the wedding officiate, and then it would be Charles and Erik’s turn to walk up their respective aisles- Charles accompanied by Raven, and Erik by Edie.

As Charles stood with Raven and waited for the music to start he thought back over everything he and Erik had been through, and the series of events that had brought them to this point. It was apt to have Raven there, as in many ways her presence in Charles’ life had been instrumental in the events that had unfolded between Charles and Erik, and in particular their decision to get married.

Of course, there were times when it seemed like Raven’s influence on their relationship might prove to be distinctly counterproductive, as well as one point in particular when Raven’s presence in their lives almost tore them apart completely…

 

***

 

Back when Charles and Erik had first been dating, like most couples they had experienced their fair share of disagreements. To begin with it had just been silly, almost inconsequential fights- the kind of bickering matches that most couples had every now and then- but as time had progressed the issues between them had deepened, become more serious, and had ultimately caused them to break apart entirely.

The most prevalent of those points of conflict had always been one very crucial matter- Erik’s decision to eliminate Sebastian Shaw. Charles had opposed Erik’s action at the time, understanding that Shaw was undoubtedly an extremely cruel, murderous man, but knowing that killing him would never have brought Erik peace- and that’s what Charles wanted most of all. He didn’t care about Shaw or his welfare- not really. He simply cared about Erik, and didn’t want his life to be destroyed by one foolhardy decision.

Unfortunately though, that was exactly what had happened. Following Erik’s decision to kill Shaw his relationship with Charles had broken down, he had been arrested, and though ultimately the Brotherhood’s influence had meant that Erik had escaped any real punishment in the eyes of the law, it could be argued that the price he paid by losing Charles was insurmountable.

Since Charles and Erik had reunited, to begin with Charles had harboured some concerns that the old issues between himself and Erik might resurface in one way or another. Though Erik always insisted he had learnt from his mistakes nevertheless the fact remained that he was still the leader of a notorious mob organisation, and Charles couldn’t help but worry that one day there might be another enemy that Erik felt he just _had_ to take out. It didn’t help that there were often certain topics in the public sphere that seemed to highlight such sensitive issues- like the implementation of a mutant research project led by a man named Bolivar Trask, for example. Charles had his own concerns about the subject, but it was nothing when compared to the way Erik felt, or Raven… Now that Raven was working part-time for Lehnsherr Corp. she and Erik had numerous opportunities to bond over their shared interests, most common of which was the ideology that mutants represented the superior species and that one day the humans would rise up to oppose them.

More than once, Charles had sat and listened to Erik and Raven rant about the subject- discussing how Trask was a clear menace to mutantkind and debating how best to deal with him. It always made Charles nervous to consider that it seemed like Erik could just be one bad decision away from breaking up their relationship once more, and though Charles felt like he had the conviction to fight to be with Erik, at the same time he knew that if Erik acted so selfishly it would make it extremely difficult for Charles to stand by his side. However, it was clear that, in so many ways, Erik really had changed. When it came to the Brotherhood and their activities there was no secrecy, no covert behaviour- any information that Erik was privy to he was happy to share it with Charles, and as a result Charles was left feeling more secure in his relationship with Erik than he’d ever been. At least, he was until one day…

Charles had never liked being apart from Erik, and he liked it even less during the weekend Erik spent in Paris with Raven and Azazel- attending important meetings which were supposedly germane to some business Lehnsherr Corp. were looking to conduct in the future. Whilst they were at work Charles was left looking after Kurt but he didn’t mind the responsibility- by this point Kurt was almost six months old and was becoming increasingly fascinating every day, and there was nothing that Charles liked more than to spend time watching Kurt continue to explore the world.

On the Sunday morning Charles awoke early- disrupted as he was by Kurt crying out for food and attention- and so he’d made a cup of tea for himself and breakfast for Kurt, and had settled down in the kitchen to attempt to get Kurt to eat without smearing porridge all over his own face… It went relatively successfully, and after a short while Charles was able to let Kurt eat mostly by himself as he turned his attention towards drinking his cup of tea and catching up on the morning news courtesy of the TV he had on low volume in the background.

Of course, when Charles turned around to watch the TV he experienced a sudden cold stab of dread in his chest, amplified as he quickly increased the volume on the television set and listened to words that confirmed with cold impartiality the disturbing news.

_“…Sources say the incident happened during the Paris peace talks, where Trask was scheduled to make an appearance. Witnesses report hearing a commotion in one of the rooms immediately followed by a loud gunshot. By the time police arrived on the scene, Trask was confirmed as having been shot dead…”_

Though Charles didn’t want to believe it, he immediately knew that Erik had been involved. It was just too much of a coincidence for Erik, Raven, and Azazel to have gone to Paris on a business trip at the same time as Trask just happened to be there, and the realisation that Charles had evidently been deceived was incredibly hard to accept.

“Erik…” Charles whispered.

Nearby Kurt had started to cry- his sullen mood caused by him accidentally dropping his spoon on the floor- but Charles barely heard him. The knowledge that Erik had lied to Charles was painfully upsetting- caustic and cruel, like acid rising in Charles’ throat. He was angry at Erik, devastated, desolate, and distraught, and he both wanted to see Erik immediately so he could pull him close and at the same time push him away forever.

The length of time that passed was indistinguishable as Charles sat there, completely static and stunned, head ringing like the gunshot he’d heard about on the news had just resounded within his ears, making him feel imbalanced and numb. He was so completely disoriented he didn’t even notice anything amiss when there was the tell-tale sensation of displaced air, until he turned his head to find Azazel standing behind Kurt’s highchair.

“You have only few minutes”, Azazel said, more expression on his drawn face than Charles had ever seen before. But before Charles could even open his mouth to speak Azazel had picked up Kurt, and within an instant they were both gone.

“Charles, we need to talk…”

Just the sound of Erik’s voice was enough to have Charles’ stomach churning uncomfortably, his pulse racing, and his heart aching with desperate need and longing. Charles wanted to turn around to face Erik, wanted to see his face, wanted to hold him, wanted to hit him, but for a while he couldn’t move. It was like one word would break Charles, one sentence uttered would solidify the reality of what Erik had done and shatter Charles’ heart into a million pieces, and it took everything to keep himself together- something he managed until he felt Erik’s hand gently press down on his shoulder.

“How could you?” Charles asked quietly, clenching his fists at his side, his voice tremoring with emotion. “I trusted you…”

“Charles…”

“I thought we were past this? I thought you had changed, and now I find out that was all a lie and that nothing’s changed at all- you’re still the same person you always were, you’re still willing to deceive me so you can follow your own selfish motivations”.

“Charles…”

“I can’t even look at you, do you know that? I don’t know why you came here to see me. I don’t know why you thought that was a good idea”.

“Charles… It wasn’t me”.                    

Charles paused, mouth parting as he allowed Erik’s words to sink in, looking for meaning in them that would explain something Charles couldn’t understand. After a moment he turned around on the stool he was sitting on, taking in Erik’s appearance for the first time and realising that he looked fine- like he always did, and certainly not like someone who had just committed a murder. There were no marks on Erik’s clothes, no blood stains or signs of injury- he just looked like he always did, like Erik- completely normal except for the troubled look in his eyes.

“What do you mean…?” Charles asked quietly.

“Charles…” Erik said, moving closer and squeezing Charles’ shoulder more firmly. “Charles, something has happened. I need you to be calm, and to know that everything’s going to be alright- I promise you that”.

“What?? What are you talking about? I know something’s happened- I’ve just seen it on the news. What do you mean it wasn’t you? Are you saying you didn’t kill Trask? You expect me to believe that? Because if it wasn’t you then who the bloody hell was it??”

Erik let out a low sigh, dropping his gaze, and for the first time Charles realised he was shaking- the tremors just evident where he was still gripping Charles’ shoulder. Suddenly, everything began to make a sick kind of sense. Erik was here. Azazel had just been here. The only person who Charles hadn’t seen… was Raven.

“Oh my god”, Charles breathed, choking down a frightened sob. “Erik, no. Please don’t--Please don’t tell me-- It wasn’t-- She _couldn’t_ \--"

Erik’s mouth succumbed to a strange kind of tremble- one Charles had never seen before and that made his heart constrict painfully in response.

“I’m sorry, Charles. It’s true. Raven killed Trask”.

Charles couldn’t remember quite what happened after that, all he knew was the next moment he was in Erik’s arms- sobbing quietly against his chest as Erik held him whilst he shook. This was worse than Charles could have possibly imagined. Although the last thing Charles wanted was for Erik to have committed such an unspeakable act for the second time, knowing that instead it was Raven was somehow even more harrowing. This was Charles’ little sister- someone he had promised to protect since the day she’d wandered into his kitchen all those years ago- and now Charles felt like he’d failed her.

“Charles…” Erik murmured, his face pressed into Charles’ hair. Though Erik was doing his best to provide support for Charles it was clear he was devastated too- not just from the way his arms shook where they were wrapped around Charles, but from the sorrow Charles could feel coming from his mind.

“Charles, everything’s going to be okay…”

“You don’t _know_ that”, Charles sobbed. “Raven could go to prison for this. She has a baby, Erik. I can’t let Kurt grow up without a mother”.

“Neither can I…”

“How could you let this happen? Why didn’t you stop her?”

“I tried, Charles- please believe me I did. But by the time I realised what Raven was planning it was too late. You know she thinks she did this _for_ Kurt- she thinks by killing Trask she’s protecting him, and in many ways she’s not wrong. We discovered that these ‘tests’ Trask was running on mutants weren’t voluntary- he was capturing mutants, torturing them, killing them. We all agreed that Trask needed to be stopped but we didn’t agree on how. I’ve learned from what happened with Shaw, Charles- I knew I couldn’t do that to you again- I just didn’t realise that Raven was so determined to see things through in her own way”.

Erik leaned back and gently cupped Charles’ face, using both thumbs to wipe Charles’ cheeks as he gazed down at him.

“Liebling, don’t cry… It will be alright…”

Charles shook his head. “No. Raven’s going to go to prison”.

“She isn’t. She isn’t, Charles- I won’t let it happen”.

“How can you stop it? I know the Brotherhood have influence and that you’ll do anything you can to help her, but she’ll still be arrested. She’ll probably have to go to trial. That’s months that she’ll be kept away from Kurt, and he’s so young…”

“No, Charles- that won’t happen. I meant it when I said I’d do anything to protect you, to protect Raven- and I’m willing to prove it now. Raven’s not going to be arrested for this… I am”.

Charles inhaled a sharp breath, looking up at Erik in disbelief. “Erik, what are you talking about…?” he said quietly.

“I’ve already made my mind up- Azazel and I have talked about it. There’s no way either of us want to take Kurt’s mother away from him, so I’ll do whatever I have to in order to make the authorities believe it was me and not Raven who was involved”.

“Erik, no…”

“I don’t think it’ll come to trial, and even if it does you know I can hire the best lawyers to defend me. I won’t go to prison, Charles. In a few months this will all be over”.

“You don’t know that!” Charles exclaimed, pushing against Erik’s chest with both hands. “You could be sentenced for this! You could spend _years_ in prison! You can’t take the fall for Raven like that- I won’t let you”.

“Liebling…” Erik murmured, fighting to hold Charles close as Charles riled against him. “Liebling, _please_. I need to do this. I know how much Raven means to you. I know how much she means to me too. I have to protect her, Charles- I _have_ to”.

“But what about me?” Charles whimpered, succumbing to a helpless sob, clinging onto Erik like his life depended on it. “I don’t want to be without you, Erik. I can’t let you do this knowing that you’re innocent. How can I live with that? How will I be able to look your mother in the eye? We can find another way to protect Raven- we can find a solution together. _Please_ , darling”.

Erik smiled, but the expression was sad. “I don’t want to be without you either, Charles- but I have to do this to protect Raven. You know it’s the only way to ensure she’s safe”.

“No…” Charles said, shaking his head. “No, no, no… There has to be another way”.

“There isn’t. I need to do this, Charles. But what I need to know is- will you wait for me?”

It was an impossible question. Under ordinary circumstances Charles knew there wasn’t much he wouldn’t be willing to do for Erik- he had demonstrated as much in the past. But this was different. This wasn’t just a matter of waiting for Erik whilst he went on a long business trip or similar, this was standing by Erik’s side during an arrest, possibly a trial, and perhaps during what could ultimately be a lengthy prison sentence. It was Charles saying that he would be willing to stay with Erik no matter what happened. It could be argued that Erik deserved as much- he was offering to make a huge sacrifice for Charles and Raven, after all- but nevertheless it was something that Charles would need to consider carefully.

“This isn’t fair…” Charles said quietly. “You’ve already said that your mind is made up- that you and Azazel have already discussed it. You’re making a decision without me and then asking me to support you. It’s exactly what you did last time”.

Erik shook his head. “That was different, Charles- I’m doing this _for_ you”.

“But I don’t want you to! Don’t you see that? I love Raven and I want her to be safe, but I can’t let you take the blame for something you haven’t done. I can’t risk losing you…”

“You won’t”.

“Stop saying that! You don’t know that”.

“Charles…” Erik said softly, staring down at him imploringly. “After everything we’ve been through together, after every obstacle we’ve overcome, please believe me when I say that I will _never_ give up on us. I know the next few weeks are going to be hard. I know that I’m asking a lot of you- perhaps too much. But I truly believe that this is the best thing for us, and for Raven”.

Erik moved closer, taking Charles’ face in his hands once again and rubbing his thumbs against the soft skin below Charles’ ears.

“Please, Liebling…” Erik asked quietly. “Will you wait for me…?”

 

****

 

At the time Charles hadn’t been able to answer the question but now- as he stood in the small room with Raven and heard the low, melodic sound of music starting up- he knew that everything they had been through was ultimately worth it, for this moment.

“Are you ready for this, Charles?” Raven asked with a grin, offering her arm for Charles to hold onto.

Charles couldn’t help but beam back at her. “It’s funny to think that three years ago our roles were reversed, and I was the one giving you away. Sometimes I can’t believe that there’s anyone willing to have either of us…”

“Me neither. It’s a miracle. Now, let’s get you married”, Raven said, waiting for Charles to take her arm before beginning to guide him outside.

As soon as Charles began to walk through the large double-doors and into the main hall where the ceremony would be taking place, he couldn’t help but gasp aloud. The room was decorated exquisitely with gorgeous white silks and glittering lights and an adornment of stunning flowers- a display that was certainly impressive without being gaudy or over-the-top, like Charles had perhaps feared. It was clear then that, even though Raven may have been more than a little pushy when it came to imposing her own ideas of what made the perfect wedding, at the end of the day she had respected Charles’ wishes and taken his tastes and styles into consideration, and that meant a lot.

“Raven…” Charles started, speaking quietly as all the guests began to stand and turn around to face them both. “This is wonderful. Thank you so much”.

Raven squeezed his arm. “Only the best for you, brother. You deserve it”.

After one final fond look at Raven, Charles turned his attention back towards the scene in front of himself- noting the camera pointed in his direction and trying to remember to smile and not trip over his own feet as he walked up the aisle. There were three sections of seating within the hall with two separate aisles in-between them, and as Charles began to walk towards the front of the room he couldn’t help but turn slightly towards the other aisle, hoping to catch a glimpse of Erik but being hampered by the long section of gaudy material stretched along the middle of the central seating area. All Charles could make out was the silhouette of Erik and his mother making their way up the aisle, and it prompted a pang of longing within Charles’ heart just knowing Erik was there when he couldn’t see him.

Of course, the reason for Raven’s decision to obscure Charles’ view soon became clear when they finally reached the front of the hall and Charles and Erik both turned to face each other. Two sets of cameras captured the moment when Charles and Erik’s eyes finally met, and Charles knew the look on Erik’s face was one that he would be remembering for the rest of his life. It was a look of joy, of wonder, of complete and utter love and devotion, and Charles knew the sentiment was reflected in his expression, because it was how he always felt when he looked at Erik.

Charles couldn’t tear his eyes away from Erik even as he turned to give Raven a brief kiss on the cheek, watching Erik do the same thing with his mother before both Charles and Erik moved to take their places at the front of the hall in front of the officiant, under a beautiful white archway decorated with flowers. The idea was they were supposed to remain quiet until the point when they were required to say their vows, but as they moved into position Erik suddenly noticed the small metal bluebird that was pinned to the lapel of Charles’ jacket- the one Edie had given Charles a few days earlier. As soon as Erik saw it his eyes grew wide and his lower lip gave out the slightest tremble, and as they came to a stop standing in front of the registrar he reached over to brush his thumb gently against the badge.

“Do you like it?” Charles asked quietly, nervous that both himself and Edie might have miscalculated Erik’s reaction.

Erik nodded, his eyes still fixed on the badge, his expression softly awed and full of feeling.

“I love it…” Erik replied. He looked back up to meet Charles’ eyes and added: “You look so beautiful, Liebling”.

Charles smiled. “You too, darling”.

The sound of the officiant clearing their throat heralded Charles and Erik’s cue to cease their conversation, prompting Charles to turn and give an apologetic smile as he stepped a tasteful distance away from Erik once more, even though every molecule in his body was humming with a desire to remain near to him. Custom dictated that Charles and Erik needed to stand apart but at least Charles had the unique gift of his mutation, and that enabled him to connect with Erik as the registrar began to start proceedings- using his telepathy to gently brush against Erik’s mind, making it feel very much like they were holding hands throughout.

After so much planning, after so many months of outfit choices and seating plans and cake selections, to finally get to the point when they were able to exchange their vows was a wonderful feeling. Charles stood and listened to the solemn words of the ceremony, smiling over at the man who was soon to be his husband, the man who had already become a fixture in Charles’ life- his best friend, his confidant, and ultimately his family.

When it came time for Charles to recite his vows a sudden bolt of nervousness hit him as he abruptly remembered that it wasn’t just himself and Erik there, it was dozens of guests all looking on. It had been Raven’s idea for them to write their own vows, naturally, and though it had been difficult to begin with for Charles to put his feelings into words, eventually he had risen to the challenge and managed to write something that he hoped would be very touching and poignant. However, although Charles could easily imagine saying the words to Erik when curled up in bed together, hushed and intimate, it was another matter entirely to say them out loud in front of a packed room, and Charles was rather unsurprised to feel his mouth immediately begin to dry as he prepared to speak.

Without allowing himself too much time to dwell (and therefore panic) Charles reached into his pocket to withdraw the piece of paper upon which he’d neatly written his vows, before he cleared his throat and began to talk.

“Erik…” Charles began softly, feeling waves of support flowing from Erik giving him the strength to continue. “On this day, I give you my heart. Everything that I have and everything that I am is yours. All I ask is to spend the rest of my life with you. To raise a family and grow old with you. To be with you for as long as we both shall live. I want you, Erik- always and forever, and I promise to love and care for you, to be honest with you, to be kind, patient, and forgiving. But most of all- I promise to be a true and loyal friend to you, because you are everything to me”.

It was a privilege to see the effect the words had on Erik- to watch a warm swell of emotion spread through his expression, to feel the way he absorbed each word and held it within his heart. Charles couldn’t help but burst into a goofy smile in response, his eyes growing moist as Erik grinned back at him, before Erik too reached into his pocket to withdraw his vows and Charles held his breath as Erik started to recite them.

“Charles… You are my ally. You are my friend and lover. You are my greatest supporter- my guide and my teacher. You are my sunrise, my shelter, my oxygen. When there is darkness, you are my light. When there is sorrow, you are my joy. When there is turmoil, you are my peace. I promise I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to be worthy of your love; to give everything to you that you have given to me. _Ich liebe dich_ , Charles. Always”.

The words were everything- a confirmation of every sentiment and emotion Charles had ever felt coming from Erik’s mind, of every hushed devotion Erik had whispered to him in the night. Both exchanges had been so beautiful, and Charles was unsurprised to notice Erik’s mother sighing happily and dabbing at her eyes with a small handkerchief- her emotional response no doubt mirrored in several of the other guests.

After the vows it was time for them to exchange rings- two beautiful silver bands that Erik had crafted himself, but that Charles had never seen before due to Erik’s insistence on it being a surprise. As the ring was placed on Charles’ finger he was enthralled to feel Erik use his powers to mould the silver circlet, ensuring a perfect fit as only Erik could- something secure but not restrictive- and with the exchange of rings came those final solemn words- “I do”, or in Erik’s case: “ _Ich Will_ ”.

“It is my honour to declare that you are now married”, the registrar finished. “You may now kiss your husband”.

It was perhaps a little uncouth in front of friends and relatives, but Charles couldn’t help but immediately step forward and seize Erik’s jacket by both lapels, pulling him close so they could share their first kiss as a married couple. Erik’s response was just as enthusiastic but they managed not to make too much of a spectacle of themselves, until the point when Erik’s hands trailed down to cup Charles’ arse- something that prompted a chorus of cheers and whistles from most of the guests and a string of muttering and tutting from Edie.

“Sorry, mama”, Erik said with a grin after he’d pulled away, being met by an initial look of disapproval that quickly softened into an affectionate smile.

Following their first kiss there was the small matter of the breaking of the glass to take care of- something that Erik managed with considerable style and aplomb- and the next thing Charles knew everyone was shouting and cheering and they were walking down one of the aisles to rapturous applause, and everything was so loud and hectic it was like a parade happening within Charles’ mind- all the outpourings of love and affection drawn in by his telepathy. It was dizzying experience, something that left Charles yearning for a moment to capture his breath, and when Erik suddenly pulled Charles by the hand and led him into a small private room Charles found himself wondering if Erik was a mind reader too.

“What are we doing?” Charles asked curiously as Erik used his powers to close the door firmly behind them.

“This is one of the parts of a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony that I insisted Raven should include. It’s called the Yichud- it’s when the married couple take a private moment after the ceremony to reflect on everything that’s just happened”. Erik moved closer, grinning down at Charles as he added: “In times past this is actually when the wedding would have been consummated…”

Charles laughed, slapping Erik playfully on one arm. “Well you can put that out of your mind- there’s no way we’re consummating _anything_ unless we’re in a luxurious bridal suite… Or should that be groom suite?”

“Call it what you want, as long as it has a nice big bed that I can lay you down on I really don’t mind”.

Erik reached both hands to hold Charles’ face, smiling softly down at him as he murmured. “All joking outside, I can’t wait to be alone with you tonight… my beautiful husband”.

Charles shivered, fissions of anticipation running down his spine.

“Me neither… Let’s just hope that tonight’s festivities don’t run on too long then”.

Erik shook his head, and Charles knew they were both thinking the same thing.

“Charles, with Raven as the organiser, I’ll be grateful if I can get you to bed before sunrise…”


	10. Chapter 10

 

 

In some ways, Charles had always felt that a wedding ceremony was for the happy couple but the reception was for the guests. Though Charles would have quite liked to have snuck off to his wedding suite with Erik so that they could be completely alone together, he knew that they had dozens of guests who would be expecting to drink and dance and celebrate into the night, and with Raven as the event organiser they were undoubtedly all in for one hell of a party.

To begin with though things got off to a somewhat conservative start. The first order of business was to take photographs- something that Charles was sure that Erik would be dreading. In truth, posing for staged pictures wasn’t exactly the most appealing idea to Charles either, but he knew that it would be worth it to have a set of wonderful photos to put up in their home and look back on with fondness later. Of course it helped that Erik was rather more relaxed about the whole thing that Charles would have envisioned- only too happy to wrap his arm around Charles and grin happily into the camera on each occasion.

Later, Charles and Erik took their places at the head table as they enjoyed a lavish dinner, after which they listened to a succession of speeches from both best men, Erik’s mother, and finally Raven. As was to be expected the toasts varied depending on who was giving them- both Raven and Edie’s were sweet, thoughtful, and poignant, whereas Hank and Azazel’s speeches seemed to be geared towards trying to make Charles and Erik as uncomfortable as possible. It was all very good-natured though, and even though Charles wished that maybe Azazel hadn’t told everyone about the time he walked in on Charles and Erik having sex in Erik’s office, just hearing the incident recounted in Azazel’s deadpan voice was hilarious enough to make up for any discomfort.

After the speeches were complete everyone moved to the bar area whilst setup for the evening reception took place, giving Charles the opportunity to neck a hasty glass of champagne in preparation for what was about to come next. When the subject of their first dance as a married couple had come up previously Charles had almost wanted to do away with the tradition altogether, knowing that Erik didn’t like to dance and realising that it would be unkind to force him to participate. However, to Charles’ surprise Erik had insisted that the dance remain part of the proceedings and later, as Charles and Erik took to the dancefloor to the opening melody of their chosen song, he realised why.

“Oh my god, you’re really good at this…” Charles breathed, looking up at Erik in astonishment as Erik skilfully manoeuvred him around the dancefloor.

“I don’t like to dance- it doesn’t mean I’m bad at it”, Erik replied, squeezing Charles’ hand. “But it’s worth it just to see the look on your face now. I’d almost say it’s even worth all the brush-up lessons I had with Azazel…”

Charles couldn’t help but laugh aloud. “You’re kidding me! You practised dancing with Azazel?”

“Ssshh, not so loud”, Erik requested, casting a glance around the room. “I had to. Memories of dancing with mama in our kitchen when I was ten years old could only get me so far, and who better to learn the waltz from than an actual Russian?”

“You’re adorable”, Charles replied, grinning up at Erik. “Thank you for doing this”.

“ _Bitte schön_ , Liebling”.

With that Erik pulled Charles closer, winding his arms around him so that they were completely entwined, and allowing Charles to rest his head against Erik’s chest. Gradually other couples began to join them, moving around them both like marionettes spinning across the dancefloor- a blur of happy faces that Charles paid little attention to because all he could think about was Erik.

“I’m so happy you asked me to marry you…” Charles said with a contented sigh.

In response Erik gave out a short sound of amusement. “I asked you? Interesting- that’s not how I remember it happening…”

 

****

 

Following the incident in Paris, Charles was inconsolable. Though Raven may have been the one to pull the trigger it was Erik who took the fall, and consequently Charles soon found himself home alone, numbly watching the events unfold on the news day after day.

Raven and Azazel remained in France as Erik assembled his legal opposition- arguing that Trask’s slaying had been an act of self-defence, which wasn’t a hard story to sell. Ever since Trask’s death, stories had begun to emerge of the experiments he had been performing on mutants against their will- accounts of mutilation and murder that horrified the general population and incensed mutants across the world. It seemed likely that Erik would escape any kind of retribution for Raven’s actions, but nevertheless in the meantime he would still have to be remanded in custody- meaning numerous days spent far away from Charles…

More than once Charles considered going to Erik- it would have been easy enough for him to make the journey thanks to Azazel’s powers of teleportation, and on many occasions Charles had to listen to Raven’s pleas for him to give in, but Charles couldn’t do it. Even though Erik had made a decision with the best possible intentions, it was still something that had gone against Charles wishes- something that Charles was having a very hard time accepting let alone condoning. Charles wanted to see Erik, but he was just so upset with him he knew it wouldn’t have been the best idea to face him when he was so afflicted. And so, Charles remained in America. He taught at the university, he spent time with friends and colleagues, and though it seemed like he was just carrying on as usual inside he was still deeply hurting.

Charles never felt Erik’s absence more than on the occasions when he was at home, attempting to cook some sad little meal for one before invariably giving up and either ordering takeout or more likely not eating at all. Afterwards Charles would read a book or mark papers before reluctantly retiring to bed, knowing that there would be no one there waiting for him, no strong arms wrapping around his body and drawing him close, no fond kisses pressed to his forehead before he fell asleep each night. Without Erik everything was so much colder, so much darker, and more than once Charles found himself falling asleep with his face pressed into Erik’s pillow, inhaling the scent of him as the material grew steadily more damp beneath his cheek.

The one comfort Charles had during that time was Erik’s mother, who took it upon herself to call Charles every night just like she used to with Erik, providing Charles with the love and support he didn’t realise he desperately needed. Fortunately Charles didn’t have to worry about any awkward conversations with Edie in regards to Erik and the crime he was accused of, as Edie was only too keen to presume Erik’s innocence- insisting that there had to be some other explanation for what had happened. It was a faithful devotion that made Charles appreciate Edie even more, but also made him wonder just how much Erik’s mother knew of Erik’s past and what had happened with Shaw…

For several weeks Charles lived without Erik, with not so much as a phone call exchanged between them. There were letters from Erik- lengthy written communication during which Erik attempted to ask Charles’ forgiveness and understanding- but Charles could never bring himself to respond.

Though Charles’ heart hurt to consider how Erik might be feeling he couldn’t reply to him, couldn’t speak to him, couldn’t visit him. When he saw Erik again he certainly didn’t want it to be under the watchful eye of armed guards in some power-restrictive prison, and he didn’t want to risk miscommunication by attempting to write his thoughts and feelings down- not when the whole situation was so tenuous. And so, Charles said nothing. Whilst he permitted Azazel to at least speak to Erik on his behalf and to let Erik know that he wasn’t going anywhere, there was no actual communication from Charles whatsoever. Not for two months.

 

When Charles saw Erik again, it was something that took him by surprise. Charles had been spending a lazy Sunday at home- reading, watching television, pining over Erik… culminating in a nice hot bath at the end of the day before it was time to go to sleep. At least, that had been Charles’ intention, but he’d just finishing dressing for bed when he’d felt something- the presence of a mind he hadn’t felt in far too long.

Within less thirty seconds Charles was downstairs, hurrying into the hallway just in time to see the door open and a familiar face enter.

Erik looked unfairly good, in spite of the fact that the rain was pouring outside and he was completely drenched. Charles watched as Erik moved into the hallway, heart clenching with overwhelming emotion as Erik closed the door behind himself and removed the hat he was wearing, placing it on a nearby coatrack before finally turning and meeting Charles’ eyes.

“Charles…”

Just the sound of Erik’s voice was compelling- a tone so comfortingly familiar, so achingly domestic that it left Charles wanting to do nothing more than to immediately run forward and throw himself into Erik’s arms. But it wasn’t that simple- it had _never_ been that simple. All the fondness in the world would never be enough to make Charles just forget about everything that had happened, or how upset the whole situation had made him feel. Just because, evidently, Erik was right when he’d said that everything would work out in the end, it didn’t mean that it diminished Charles’ hurt feelings on the subject.

“I’m so mad at you…” Charles said quietly, staring down at the ground. As a result of the door briefly being open a certain chill had been brought into the house, and Charles suddenly wished he was wearing something more substantial than pyjamas as he began to shiver.

“Liebling--"

“Do you know how lonely I’ve been? How much I’ve missed you? It’s been two months, Erik, and it could have been a lot longer”.

“I know… I’m sorry. I’m here now”.

Charles shook his head. “I’ll always be grateful to you for what you did for Raven, but that doesn’t change the fact that you made this decision without me; that you didn’t consider my feelings”.

“Charles, I--"

“I’m so mad at you…” Charles repeated softly, tremoring not just because of the cold anymore, but because he’d missed Erik terribly and the one thing he wanted most was to be held by him, but he knew so much of that would feel like giving in and Charles wasn’t one to surrender.

Charles felt rather than saw Erik’s move closer, given that his eyes were still focused resolutely on the ground like he couldn’t bear to look up for even a second. As soon as Erik was close enough Charles could feel the warmth of his body, the intoxicating scent of him, and it only made Charles’ yearning for him increase emphatically. It would be so easy for Charles to fall into Erik’s arms, to bury his face in Erik’s chest and allow himself to feel sated for the first time in months, to take Erik to bed- to _their bed_ ; something it hadn’t been in far too long. But inside Charles felt like he was waging a war against himself- between what he felt like he wanted and what he knew he needed.

“I’m _so_ mad at you…”

Charles looked up at last, eyes wide and shimmering; a chasm of black amongst a sea of pale blue. In Erik’s face he saw a kind of shattering- a manifestation of the regret and sorrow Erik felt- and for the first time he knew that Erik was scared. Yes, he had seemed certain and sure of himself when he’d offered to take the fall for Raven all those months ago, but weeks of not seeing Charles, of not knowing for certain if Charles would ever forgive him or not, had clearly taken their toll.

“Charles, _please_ …” Erik whispered, his voice tremoring with emotion.

And in response, Charles kissed him, gave into him- like it was something he was foolish to resist in the first place.

 

It was astonishing how good it felt- how right and how _vital_ it was to be with Erik, to hold and be held by him, to kiss him, to touch him. One second they were apart and the next they were clinging to each other, breaths coming out harsh and fast as they grabbed at each other’s clothing, as Erik eventually lifted Charles up and began to carry him upstairs. Charles held onto Erik desperately as they made their way up the stairs, kissing Erik frantically and beginning to roll his hips forward, pushing his rapidly hardening cock up against Erik’s flat stomach and causing Erik to groan in response. Just the sound of Erik moaning was enough to increase Charles’ arousal empathically, and by the time they reached the bedroom Charles was practically overcome with lust.

“Erik… Erik, I--" Charles gasped, not even knowing that he was trying to ask for- not knowing what he wanted specifically other than _Erik_ in every conceivable way. But even without their telepathic link it was arguable that Erik would know what Charles desired regardless- every whimper and moan from Charles was like implicit instruction, like directions on a map for Erik to willingly follow.

In a short while Charles was laid out naked on the bed underneath Erik, impossibly impatient as he pulled at Erik’s remaining clothing, desperate to feel the warmth and weight of Erik’s body flush against his own after so long. It was taking more time than Charles would have liked though- every so often Erik would stop and linger, staring down at Charles ardently, holding Charles’ face with careful reverence as he gazed into his eyes- like the deep blue of Charles’ irises was the ocean and he would willingly drown.

“Charles, I’m sorry…” Erik whispered. “I’m sorry I ever left you. I’ve missed you so much, baby…”

Charles shook his head. “Don’t talk. I… I can’t. Just kiss me. Just fuck me, please- I need to _feel_ you”.

After that Charles’ grip on Erik’s clothing grew more urgent, prompting Erik to finally shed his remaining garments so he was fully naked at last. With Erik completely bared Charles wrapped his arms around him, kissing and touching him everywhere, moaning helplessly as Erik’s hands slid down to prep Charles, rolling Charles on top so he had better access. In a short while Erik’s cock was inside Charles and it was everything Charles needed after so many months of being alone. During the whole time Erik had been gone Charles hadn’t wanted anyone else, hadn’t needed anyone else- just Erik, always Erik. And though Charles was still angry, though he still felt hurt and betrayed by Erik’s actions, for now he just needed this- he needed to be held, he needed to be kissed, he needed his boyfriend- the person he loved more than anyone else in the world.

 

In the afterglow, Charles expected things to be harder. His desire for Erik had been all-consuming, making his body feel flushed and hot- a fire that could only be put out by Erik’s touch, Erik’s kiss- and now that was over Charles expected that the cold would seep in again, making him sullen and gloomy. But that wasn’t how Charles felt at all. Though some residual resentment still remained, which would likely take some time to set aside, for the most part Charles just felt… happy. Contented. Like this was what he had been missing, and now he had it he was complete once more.

Perhaps then the answer to Charles woes was not to have some long drawn-out discussion with Erik, or to make him apologise again when it was arguable that he had barely done anything wrong in the first place. Perhaps the answer was to keep Charles’ happiness at home- to ensure that he never had to be without Erik ever again.

“Marry me…”

The words were almost lost, whispered as they were from Charles’ lips into the skin of Erik’s neck from where they still lay hopelessly entwined, but Erik heard them anyway. Instantly he stirred, grasping hold of Charles’ face and manoeuvring him so that he could look into Charles’ eyes, his mouth gaping slightly in disbelief.

“Charles, what did you just say?”

If there was ever a moment for Charles to blame his actions on a post-orgasm high then this was it. He could easily say that he didn’t mean it, say that he was joking- he could even use his telepathy to make Erik forget all about the moment if he wanted to. The only thing was, Charles didn’t _want_ Erik to forget. At so many points during their relationship Charles had tried his best to take things slow, to be cautious, to think with his head rather than his heart, and where had that gotten him? He and Erik had broken up once before due in part to Charles’ inability to express his feelings, and who’s to say that it wouldn’t happen for a second time at some point? Perhaps, therefore, the time had come for Charles to be honest- to allow his heart to speak; to _feel_ , not think.

“I’ve missed you…” Charles said quietly in response, staring down at Erik, lulled by the feeling of Erik’s fingers gently carding through his hair. “I’ve missed waking up next to you every morning and seeing you every day and having dinner with you and kissing you and going to sleep in your arms. I’ve missed listening to you rant about mutant supremacy. I’ve even missed you making fun of my abysmal cooking skills. I don’t want to have to worry about another day like all the ones I’ve had over the past several months. I don’t want to be single again. I don’t want to have to date other people and wonder if anyone will ever understand me as well as you do. I know that marriage isn’t an easy fix and it doesn’t mean that we won’t ever have problems in the future, but I want you to know I’m serious about you- that you’re who I want for the rest of my life”.

Charles paused, dropping his head to rest against Erik’s chest as grim realisation crept over him, prompting him to groan and murmur: “Oh gosh, this is the worst proposal ever… I don’t even have a ring”.

Erik exhaled a low sigh, gently trailing his fingertips down Charles’ back before he said the words that Charles had hoped to hear in the future, but that he certainly didn’t expect to hear now:

“I do”.

“Huh?” Charles mumbled, lifting his head to meet Erik’s eyes once more.

Erik smiled widely. “I do. I have a ring”.

With that Erik gestured subtly with one hand, a skilful display of power that had Charles watching in complete captivation as, from the other side of the room, a chest of drawers opened and from within which a small metal box drifted out, travelling seamlessly over towards the bed. Once it was within grabbing distance Erik reached to pluck it from the air, holding it in front of Charles as the lid slowly slid open to reveal the sight of a single metal ring resting on a plush silk cushion inside.

“I made this for you the first month we started dating…” Erik said quietly as Charles stared at the ring in complete astonishment. “I always knew it would be you, Charles, I just didn’t want to rush you, but if you’re telling me you’re ready now then I am too. All I want is to be with you for the rest of my life. So, Liebling… will you marry me?”

Charles looked up to meet Erik’s eyes, his expression overcome with emotion. “I thought I was supposed to be asking you…” he said softly.

“You were, but it seemed like you could do with a little help”, Erik replied with a grin. He reached over to gently stroke his hand through Charles’ hair, the feeling of his fingertips tracing across Charles’ scalp sending a delicious shiver running down Charles’ spine as he thought about all the years to come, and a million other perfect moments like this.

“Are you cold?” Erik asked, reaching down to grasp the blankets and pulling them up to cover Charles’ naked form, wrapping his arms around Charles’ waist afterwards.

“No, I was just thinking about our future… Sometimes I’m sure that’s all I ever think about- us, in this house, growing old together…”

Erik smiled warmly. “Sounds perfect… Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

“Maybe…”

“Charles… Don’t make me spank you…”

Charles laughed. “Is that the way you normally get people to agree to marry you?”

“I wouldn’t know- you’re the first I’ve ever asked”.

“Well, in that case I suppose it would probably be terribly rude of me to deny you…”

Charles edged further up Erik’s body, taking Erik’s face in both hands and leaning down to give him a tender kiss.

“Yes…” Charles whispered against Erik’s lips. “Yes, Erik Lehnsherr- I will marry you”.

It was beautiful to be able to experience the surge of joy coming from Erik’s mind in that moment- the feeling something like joy and disbelief and devotion all at once. Charles let himself bask in the intense emotions, warmed by the strength of Erik’s love like the rays of the sun, permeating into his very being, warming his heart and soul. After embracing Charles with a passionate kiss Erik turned his attention back towards the ring, taking it carefully from the box and sliding it onto Charles’ finger, using his powers to manipulate the metal so that it was a perfect fit. Afterwards Charles rested his head against Erik’s chest once more, fingers entwined with Erik’s as Erik ran his thumb over the silver band on Charles’ finger, almost like he needed to trace the metal to be sure it was really there.

“Thank fuck for that…” Erik murmured after a while. “Mama would have killed me if I’d let you get away again”.

“She knew you wanted to marry me?”

Erik nodded. “She’s always known. Honestly, I swear she’s a mind reader too. She’ll probably know that we’re engaged before I even have the chance to tell her”.

“Um, about that…” Charles started, lifting his head to look at Erik once more. “Do you think we could wait a week or so before we tell Raven the news? Just because I know how excited she’ll get and she’ll want to start planning right away, and I want some time first to just enjoy this moment with you”.

“That’s fine, Liebling. Do you really think she’ll get that intense about it though? After all, it’s not like it’s her wedding”.

Charles scoffed, shooting Erik a wry glance. “Darling, you have no idea…”

 

****

 

Charles had predicted it correctly at the time, and after they’d told Raven the happy news the subsequent two years had been very much like a whirlwind as Raven came up with ideas and plans for their big day- throwing herself into the arrangements with the gusto of both a loving sister and someone who felt like she had somewhat of a debt to repay given the trouble she’d caused in their relationship…

Still, all that time had been worth it, because now Charles and Erik were married and Charles knew it was the happiest he’d ever been. The wedding reception was a blur- a riot of an event complemented by more than a few glasses of champagne, but though Charles exerted himself with dancing and enhanced himself with alcohol, he made sure to leave himself alert and energetic enough for that evening’s main event- a night Charles had been looking forward to for a very long time.

Of course, it wasn’t as easy to get there as Charles would have liked… After staying the appropriate amount of time as required by social convention Charles and Erik took their opportunity to slip away, but they barely made it a few metres down the corridor before Charles heard his name being called and he was forced to turn around.

“Wait!” Raven exclaimed, hurrying towards them. Inwardly Charles groaned at the realisation that they had been rumbled, assuming that he was about to be forced to go back and re-join in the festivities, but to his surprise Raven instead came to a stop in front of Charles, brandishing a large envelope which she handed over.

“I almost forgot to give you this”, Raven said, smiling widely. “Don’t you want to know where you’re going on honeymoon?”

“Oh gosh, I forgot too. Thanks, Raven”, Charles replied, taking the envelope from her and smiling politely as he began to open it.

Charles had already tried to prepare himself to appear pleased with whatever gift he was given, imagining he would soon be heading off to some ungodly hot country, the climate of which would most likely result in Charles ending up red and blotchy rather than gorgeously sun kissed. However, to Charles’ surprise, instead when he opened the envelope he found only two things- a photograph of a cosy-looking cabin in the snow, and a single key.

“The key is mostly symbolic, considering Erik will be able to let you guys in, so the picture is the important part”, Raven explained, smiling at Charles whilst he continued to look down in bewilderment.

“I don’t understand…” Charles said slowly. “We’re not going to a beach resort?”

Raven gave Charles a pointed look. “With your complexion? Not a chance, Charles. No, you two will be transported- courtesy of Azazel Airlines- to a remote cabin in Austria. There’s slopes nearby if you want to go skiing and it’s only a short walk to the nearest village, but ultimately if the two of you just want to spend the entire time curled up in bed together with the fire roaring beside you then you can do exactly that. However, I’d recommend you check out your own private hot tub at least once…”

Charles looked up at Raven in astonishment, wondering for a second how Raven could have picked a honeymoon that was so completely suited to the two of them, until he realised the answer- it was because she knew them so well.

“Thank you, Raven. This is… This is exactly what I hoped for”.

Raven beamed. “You’re welcome, Charles. I’m sure you guys will have a fantastic time”.

Charles stepped forward to pull Raven into a warm hug- an embrace that started off enthusiastic but that became almost crushing as Erik wrapped his arms around the both of them and squeezed tight. After a lot of laughing and protests about potential suffocation Erik loosened his grip, and Raven gave Charles and Erik one final smile (and a decidedly suggestive wink) before she turned away and headed back into the party.

 

A short while later, Charles and Erik were finally able to retire to their room for the night- the hotel’s most luxurious suite that Charles had been assured by Raven had been done up for the occasion. As soon as they got to the door Charles had been more than keen to head inside, but apparently Erik had other ideas…

“Wait, wait- take your shoes off”.

“Huh?” Charles replied, looking at Erik cluelessly.

“Take your shoes off. I’m carrying you over the threshold and straight to bed, so you might as well remove your shoes and socks now as you’re not going anywhere else tonight”.

“Is that a promise?” Charles responded with a grin, raising his eyebrows as he leaned down to do as instructed. As soon as Charles’ footwear had been removed Erik stepped forward and hauled Charles into his arms, prompting a delighted squeal from Charles at the ease with which Erik manhandled him, as always.

“It’s a guarantee…” Erik smirked, planting a brief kiss on Charles’ lips before he used his powers to open the door and began to carry Charles through it.

As Raven had promised, the room was stunning. The entire suite was decorated in a similar style to what the wedding venue had been- with white flowers and sumptuous silks and warm flickering lights, all of which made the room seem magic and ethereal. Charles gazed around in disbelief as he was carried over to the bed, completely transfixed until the point when Erik carefully laid him down on the mattress and his attention was restored.

Erik placed Charles on the bed slowly, reverently, leaning over Charles and brushing his hand gently through Charles’ hair, before gently holding Charles’ face and rubbing his thumb against Charles’ lower lip.

“My beautiful husband…” Erik murmured.

Charles inhaled a long breath, deeply moved by the love and sentiment he could feel radiating from Erik. “I like the sound of that… husband…”, he whispered, smiling as Erik dipped his head and began to kiss Charles’ neck, reaching for Charles’ tie as he did so. Reciprocally Charles reached for Erik’s clothing too, planning to help Erik disrobe as was usually their routine, but within an instant Erik had seized Charles’ hands and was pinning them down against the mattress, shaking his head as he smiled down at him.

“Slowly… We have all night, Liebling- let me enjoy you”, Erik said softly, loosening his hold on Charles’ hands. Charles followed the directive without question, remaining spellbound and yielding as Erik once again reached for his tie and began to remove it, and only moving to assist as Erik began to slide off his jacket.

Charles felt practically ready to explode as he lay there, bewitched by every touch from Erik, murmuring softly as his clothing was removed piece by piece, as Erik marked the reveal of every bit of flesh with slow, sensual kisses. Of course, Charles found it hard to remain completely passive as Erik used his powers to unbutton Charles’ trousers, knowing what Erik would find there and holding his breath in anticipation of Erik’s reaction…

It was customary to dress up on your wedding night, and with that in mind Charles had bought a smart new pair of briefs to wear for Erik, knowing that Erik favoured fitted underwear in soft materials. However, that wasn’t the only garment Charles had purchased on that particular shopping trip, and though Charles was pleased when Erik hummed appreciatively as Charles’ underwear was revealed, it was what came next that Charles was a little nervous about.

As soon as Charles’ trousers had been removed Erik paused, looking down at Charles for what felt like an age before, finally, he slipped into a wide, seductive grin.

“Charles… I should have known you’d do something special for me, you little minx…” Erik murmured, trailing one hand up Charles’ leg before running his thumb slowly over the intricate lace garter that spanned Charles’ upper thigh. “This is a lovely surprise. Am I supposed to remove it with my teeth like the grooms do traditionally?”

Just the thought of that soon had the blood flowing towards Charles’ crotch more than it already was before, filling out his briefs and prompting Erik to hum happily as he reached one hand to palm at the outline of Charles’ hard cock.

“Alright, I’ll take that as a yes”, Erik replied with a smirk.

Erik was still grinning as he leaned over to begin his task, his breath warm against Charles’ thigh as he started to mouth at the area, teasing Charles by gently nibbling and licking at his sensitive skin. Charles watched Erik devotedly, sucking in an unsteady breath as Erik seized hold of the garter with his teeth and began to pull it down, the feeling of the material brushing against Charles’ skin making him let out a helpless giggle in response. Charles had never really doubted him anyway, but Erik managed it easily and within a short while he was moving to kneel between Charles’ spread legs, wearing a victorious grin and with the garter held between his teeth.

“Very impressive”, Charles replied, chuckling as Erik tucked the garter away in his trouser pocket. “I’m now regretting that I didn’t take Raven’s suggestion of having you do that in the middle of the wedding reception”.

“It’s probably for the best that you didn’t, Charles. After all, it might have been a little bit awkward if you’d have gotten an erection in the middle of the dancefloor”.

“Hey- I can control myself you know”, Charles pouted.

“Not in my experience. Not around me”. As if to prove his point Erik reached down to grasp Charles’ underwear, pulling it down to reveal the length of Charles’ hard cock and immediately wrapping one large hand around it afterwards, giving one long stroke.

“So, husband- how do you want me?” Erik asked.

Charles smiled, biting his lip as Erik’s thumb swiped over the head of his cock. “Well you did say we had all night, didn’t you? So I don’t think it’s terribly unreasonable to say that I want you in every conceivable way”.

“Okay, so how do you want me first?”

Charles squirmed further up the bed out of Erik’s grasp, reaching over into one of the bedside tables to search inside and smiling victoriously when his hand closed around a small bottle of lube.

“Raven really is the best sister ever…” Charles said to himself. He threw the lube towards Erik before moving to lie on his stomach on the mattress, winding his arms around the pillow underneath his head as he got comfortable. “Would you prep me, darling?” he asked, turning to look back at Erik.

Erik nodded. “Anything for you, _Mein Geliebter_ ”, he replied softly.

As before, Erik remained true to his word to take things slowly. Before even starting to prep Charles he placed a succession of gentle kisses down the length of Charles’ spine, making Charles writhe with delight particularly as Erik’s lips moved lower, eventually mouthing at Charles’ entrance as Charles moaned in response. After his tongue came Erik’s fingers, slick with lube and pushing into Charles, twisting and scissoring as Charles panted and groaned, his cock achingly hard between his legs and desperate to be touched. And all throughout everything that Erik was doing all Charles could think was: _“He’s my husband… That’s my husband touching me…”_ and his heart swelled as he heard the same sentiment echoed in Erik’s mind.

After Charles had been suitably prepped he rolled onto his back, taking a moment to drink in Erik’s appearance before sitting up and reaching for him. Although Erik looked sinfully delicious in his tuxedo Charles hadn’t been able to stop imagining him out of it all night, and he took great delight in slowly removing each item of clothing, pressing feather-soft kisses to Erik’s skin as he did so. As soon as Erik was completely naked at last Charles reached for the lube and began to slick up Erik’s cock, before they both moved to lie down on the mattress- Charles on his back with Erik in-between his legs.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting for this night my whole life…” Erik said quietly, gazing down at Charles with complete devotion. “I love you, Liebling”.

Their eyes remained locked as Erik lined up his cock and pushed inside, sliding deeper inch by inch until his member was completely buried. Charles couldn’t help but gasp, the sensation heady and intense even after so many prior occasions, and there was part of Charles that hoped it would always be like this- that things with Erik would always be intense and exciting, like Erik himself was. But, either way, Charles knew that his life to come, all of the moments and milestones ahead of him would all be everything he needed, because Erik was all that he needed.

Charles knew his eyes were somewhat watery as he smiled and wrapped his arms around Erik’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

“I love you, darling”, Charles whispered, stealing a kiss from Erik’s lips, feeling Erik’s emotion wash over him like stardust- settling on his skin like tiny fragments of light warming everything they touched. But it wasn’t just the warmth of Erik’s love that Charles could feel, it was the warmth of his power upon the band around Charles’ finger- Erik’s influence on the metal seeming like a very real reminder of their commitment.

The curious sensation continued as Erik began to rock forward, as they grasped and held onto each other in all manner of guises, as they revelled in the intimate bliss of their union, as they brought each other to mutual ecstasy. And in the moment after they both climaxed Erik leaned over, pressing his face into the palm of Charles’ hand, his lips brushing gently against the wedding ring on Charles’ finger, and with the gesture came the words: “ _Ich bin an dich gebunden_ ”.

_“I am bound to you”._


End file.
